THR reports that Miramax is suing director Quentin Tarantino over plans to release non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on his 1994 film Pulp Fiction.

Tarantino announced the NFT plans earlier this month, intending to release 7 NFTs based on the film, including scenes from an early script that were cut from the final film. The NFTs will also contain Pulp Fiction art, and commentary from Tarantino himself. Miramax alleges that it sent a cease-and-desist letter to the director after the announcement, to no avail.

“Tarantino’s conduct has forced Miramax to bring this lawsuit against a valued collaborator in order to enforce, preserve, and protect its contractual and intellectual property rights relating to one of Miramax’s most iconic and valuable film properties,”

the company wrote in its lawsuit.

“Left unchecked, Tarantino’s conduct could mislead others into believing Miramax is involved in his venture. And it could also mislead others into believing they have the rights to pursue similar deals or offerings, when in fact Miramax holds the rights needed to develop, market, and sell NFTs relating to its deep film library.”

NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS (NFTs) leapt from the more obscure corners of the internet into the mainstream in March 2021 when Christies, a British auction house, sold a digital work of art for $69m.  An NFT is a record on a cryptocurrency’s blockchain (an immutable ledger that can record more than just virtual coins) that can be used to represent pieces of digital media which can then be bought and sold in a similar way to physical collectibles and hold their own market value.

Miramax was founded in 1979 by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, and was a leading independent film motion picture distribution and production company before it was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993, in the company’s first acquisition. Miramax was sold by Disney to Filmyard Holdings, a joint venture of Colony NorthStar, Tutor-Saliba Corporation, and Qatar Investment Authority, in 2010, ending Disney’s 17-year ownership of the studio. In 2016, the company was sold to the beIN Media Group. In 2019, beIN agreed to sell a 49% stake in the company to ViacomCBS. The sale was completed on April 3, 2020.