3 Count: Pulp NFT

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1: Miramax Hits Tarantino With Copyright Suit on ‘Pulp Fiction’ NFTs

First off today, Samantha Handler at Bloomberg Law reports that the film studio Mirimax has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against director Quentin Tarantino over Tarantino’s plans to release of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) related to the film Pulp Fiction.

Earlier this month, Tarantino announced he would be selling NFTs based on “previously unknown secrets” from the film including extended scenes, pages of the script and more. However, according to the lawsuit, Mirimax owns the rights to the film a Tarantino did not clear the NFT sales with them.

NFTs are unique digital tokens tracked by a blockchain. They are a way to sell “unique” copies of digital works but do not transfer any rights. Nonetheless, Mirimax claims to hold all the copyrights and trademarks related to the film, prompting them to file a lawsuit for breach of contract, copyright infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition.

2: John Lewis Sued by Self-Published Children’s Author Over Christmas Ad

Next up today, Alison Flood at The Guardian reports that, in the UK, a self-published author has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against a major retailer, John Lewis, over a 2019 Christmas ad that featured an excitable and accident-prone dragon.

According to the author, Fay Evans, the character in the commercial is strikingly similar to her picture book Fred the Fire-Sneezing Dragon, which she published in 2017. According to Evans, both stories feature a dragon whose fire-related accidents cause them to be hated by those around them until they’re able to find a way to put their fire breath to a good holiday-appropriate use.

John Lewis, however, denies any copying and claims to have provided time-stamped evidence that their campaign was first presented to them in early 2016, before her book was published.

3: $31m piracy penalty for ChitramTV

Finally today, Colin Mann at Advanced Television reports that a Texas judge has entered a judgment against the South Asian pirate IPTV service Chitram TV.

The lawsuit was coordinated by the International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy and headed by the member company DISH Network. The lawsuit accuses Chitram of illegally making available content owned by various cable and satellite networks, including DISH, and the judge has found in their favor.

In addition to some $31 million in damages, the judge also issued a sweeping injunction ordering domain registrars, content delivery networks and other providers to cease working with the site.

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