Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is choosing to move ahead with plans to auction NFTs related to his 90s megahit ‘Pulp Fiction’.
The Hollywood icon is embroiled in a suit with Miramax, over the ownership of intellectual properties associated with the film.
In November last year, Tarantino announced plans to auction NFTs based off of his original hand-written script of Pulp Fiction, but Miramax quickly filed suit, arguing breach of contract and intellectual property violations.
Made at a time when NFTs had not even been envisioned, it is completely unclear who owns the right to mint them, and a court of law will ultimately decide, with hearings starting in February.
However, Tarantino does not appear to have that patience. He has announced plans to start with the auction this month, which may force Miramax to seek emergency block orders.
After news of this auction broke, Miramax released this statement.
“Any claim that Tarantino has ‘defeated’ this lawsuit is verifiably false as Miramax’s claims and the litigation remains pending. There’s been no attempt to dismiss any of Miramax’s claims by Tarantino’s team, nor have they filed any counter claims or motions against Miramax, and since Miramax filed its lawsuit, the promotional website and Twitter account for the proposed sale have scaled back the unauthorized use of imagery from Miramax films (including Pulp Fiction). For anyone to presume Tarantino victorious at this time by merely filing his response to the complaint is inaccurate, misleading and premature to say the least.”
Miramax
This will certainly be a precedent-setting case, especially on what intellectual property ownership in Hollywood and elsewhere entails, in this age of NFTs.
