Film studio Miramax is suing director Quentin Tarantino over his plans to auction seven non-fungible tokens (NFTs) based on his 1994 hit movie, Pulp Fiction.

NFTs are a digital collectible that exist on blockchains and are often a way for people to own original versions of a particular piece of content.

In this instance, it is believed that the proposed Pulp Fiction NFTs contain scenes in the script that never made it to screen, as well as art and commentaries about the film.

Miramax, the studio that produced the film which starred John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson, want to stop the auction from going ahead citing it would be a breach of their copyright.

It would also put a spanner in the works for them as they were hoping to produce their own NFTs.

According to legal documents viewed by US outlet The Hollywood Reporter, Miramax said: “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.

“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.”

Responding to the lawsuit, Tarantino’s lawyers said he was acting within his right to “screenplay publication”.

Adding: “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.

“This one-off effort devalues the NFT rights to Pulp Fiction, which Miramax intends to maximize through a strategic, comprehensive approach.”