Quentin Tarantino Is Being Sued Because of a NFT
Quentin Tarantino is getting sued.
Miramax filed the lawsuit on Tuesday (November 16), accusing the director of copyright infringement by selling NFTs based on Pulp Fiction, Variety reported.
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The NFT sale was announced at a crypto-art convention in New York earlier in the month.
“I’m excited to be presenting these exclusive scenes from Pulp Fiction to fans,” he said in a press release announcing the NFT, which was based on excerpts from the original handwritten script for the film, along with commentary. The contents would only be available to the owner.
Tarantino reportedly did not consult Miramax, which still owns the rights to the film. A cease and desist letter reportedly did not stop the director, and the company alleges they had their own plans to do Pulp Fiction NFTs.
“This group chose to recklessly, greedily, and intentionally disregard the agreement that Quentin signed instead of following the clear legal and ethical approach of simply communicating with Miramax about his proposed ideas,” Miramax’s legal team said.
“This one-off effort devalues the NFT rights to Pulp Fiction, which Miramax intends to maximize through a strategic, comprehensive approach.”
Quentin‘s lawyer told Miramax that he retained the right to publish his screenplay in the Miramax contract, and that he is exercising that right through the NFT sale, the lawsuit adds.
Miramax argues that since the NFTs are a one-time sale, they are not equivalent to publication of a screenplay, and therefore Miramax owns the NFT rights.
The suit is claiming breach of contract, copyright infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition.