A Los Angeles, California lawsuit filed on Tuesday says film director Quentin Tarantino has overstepped his limited rights to his 1994 film “Pulp Fiction,” breaching the parties’ contract, committing trademark infringement, and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law. Miramax LLC’s complaint claims that the director’s reserved rights under the parties agreements are too narrow to afford him the ability to create, market, and sell the non-fungible token (NFTs) he seeks to.
The filing explains that Tarantino kept the Hollywood studio out of the loop concerning his plans to auction off seven exclusive scenes from “Pulp Fiction” in the form of NFTs. Specifically, the director intends to sell “secrets” of the film’s iconic scenes, as touted on his official website, the complaint says.
In addition, the NFTs will reportedly include scans of some pages of the movie’s script. Tarantino is also set to sell props from his films, including one from Pulp Fiction, the filing says.
Allegedly, the global film and television studio filed the lawsuit as a matter of last resort after sending Tarantino a cease-and-desist letter stating its case, once it learned of his plans. “Wrongly claiming that his narrow Reserved Rights are sufficient, Tarantino remains undeterred and has refused to comply with Miramax’s demands to cancel the sale of Pulp Fiction NFTs,” the suit argues.
The studio now seeks to enforce and protect its contractual and intellectual property rights relating to the film, purportedly one of Miramax’s most outstanding and valuable films. “Left unchecked, Tarantino’s conduct could mislead others into believing Miramax is involved in his venture,” the complaint cautions. In addition, Tarantino’s actions could cause others to follow suit under the mistaken belief that they have the rights to pursue similar deals or offerings, though Miramax holds the rights needed to develop, market, and sell NFTs derived from its deep film library, the filing says
The studio seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as damages and an award of its fees and costs. Miramax is represented by Proskauer Rose LLP.
