Repudiation Of Ownership Costs Pulp Fiction Photographer Copyright Claim

• Published date: 27 January 2022
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Copyright, Broadcasting: Film, TV & Radio
• Law Firm: Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
• Author: Daniel R. Mello, Jr. and Margaret A. Esquenet

Nearly thirty years ago, on October 14, 1994, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction took the world by storm. The indie film with an $8 million budget turned into an international sensation, grossing over $200 million in box office sales and receiving nominations for and winning over 60 awards, including from the Academy and Golden Globe, and despite competition from other well-known titles such as Forrest Gump and The Shawshank Redemption. Pulp Fiction was first screened at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the prestigious Palme d'Or award for "Best Film."

Pulp Fiction is a graphic, neo-noir, multistrand black comedy set in Los Angeles that collects four related crime stories and organizes them by theme, rather than chronological order. The film is known for its ironic juxtaposition of the incredibly violent with catchy banter and the overlay of pop culture references, a style that has since become a Tarantino staple. The film featured an all-star cast including John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman.

Sometime in late 1993 or early 1994, then-art director at Miramax, Tod Tarhan, and his colleagues developed a concept for a promotional poster. The concept art depicted Thurman (in her role as Mia Wallace) as a femme fatale lying with her chest against a bed, looking up at the camera, and with her ankles crossed behind her. Thurman was further depicted holding a book in one hand, her hair in the other, and with a pistol in reach.

Once the sketches were approved by Miramax executive, Harvey Weinstein, Miramax approached Firooz Zahedi to execute its vision. Given Pulp Fiction's limited budget, Miramax offered Zahedi $10,000 for the photoshoot. Zahedi accepted the offer, despite it being below his standard fee, and photographed Thurman in his studio where he selected several props including her shoes.

Miramax's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 145-11.

Miramax and Zahedi did not execute any agreement identifying which rights each party had in the photograph. According to Zahedi, Miramax "didn't do contracts" and Zahedi "orally licensed the right to use the photograph on a physical poster to promote the movie, but did not otherwise grant Miramax a license to use the photograph."

Miramax took Zahedi's photo, made some edits (e.g., rotated the gun 90'; added the text "A QUENTIN TARANTINO FILM," "PULP FICTION," and "10'"; and applied an aging effect to make the poster look like a classic paperback pulp fiction...