Authored By Haviland Macy Marie Kebler, Esq. & Samantha Pendley
Hollywood, California, and the Sixth Circuit have always been popular jurisdictions for copyright infringement lawsuits, due to the number of artists, entertainment, and industry in the area. One world-renowned filmmaker and actor, Quentin Tarantino (“Tarantino”), who has been active in filmography for over three (3) decades and known for his work in blockbuster movies including Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, has seen his share of copyright infringement lawsuits. One recent suit, filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California in November 2021, is based on the 1994 comedy crime thriller, Pulp Fiction. See Miramax, LLC v. Quentin Tarantino and Visiona Romantica, Inc., Case No. 2:21-cv-08979. Prior to the release of the film, entertainment studio, Miramax, LLC (“Miramax”), entered into a series of contractual agreements with Taratino related to the movie’s financing and production.
Miramax’s complaint alleges that in these agreements, Miramax was granted exclusive rights to the copyrights and trademarks from Taratino. Tarantino reserved only the rights to the “soundtrack album, music publishing, live performance, print publication, interactive media, theatrical and television sequel and remake rights and television series and spinoff rights.” Miramax v. Tarantino, Case No. 2:21-cv-08979. During the rise of the non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) in 2021, Tarantino launched a collection of NFTs that featured digital images of the handwritten version of the Pulp Fiction screenplay. The first of the seven-set collection proved to be popular and was sold for over one (1) million dollars by the Secret Network Auctions. Based on the assignment of the rights agreed to by the parties, Miramax regarded this as a breach of contract and sued, claiming copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, and breach of contract. Miramax additionally requested an injunction and asked the court to block the sale of the remaining NFTs.
The key issue in the lawsuit focused on whether or not Tarantino’s reserved right to “screenplay publication” would include the right to launch the NFT collection. Miramax’s alleges all rights in and to the movie along with the marketing, development, and sale of any NFTs were assigned from Tarantino to Miramax. Tarantino‘s response states Miramax’s allegations are incorrect because the NFTs were based solely on his screenplay, to which he retained the rights. While the IP world had been closely watching this case because it was one of the first intellectual property lawsuits over NFTs, the court will not have a chance to provide much guidance on NFTs and IP because the parties have settled the case, likely for more than a $5.00 milkshake.