LOS ANGELES (CN) - Quentin Tarantino sued Gawker Media on Monday in Federal Court, accusing it of "predatory journalism" and "blatant copyright infringement," for promoting and distributing "downloadable copies of the leaked unreleased complete screenplay for Quentin Tarantino's motion picture 'The Hateful Eight.'"
Tarantino, represented by Lavely & Singer, accuses Gawker Media and its affiliates of copyright infringement and contributory copyright infringement.
"Gawker Media has made a business of predatory journalism, violating people's rights to make a buck," Tarantino claims in the 14-page lawsuit. "This time they went too far. Rather than merely publishing a news story reporting that plaintiff's screenplay may have been circulating in Hollywood without his permission, Gawker Media crossed the journalistic line by promoting itself to the public as the first source to read the entire screenplay illegally. Their headline boasts 'Here Is the Leaked Quentin Tarantino Hateful Eight Script'."
Tarantino says the article contain several links for downloading the entire screenplay, "through a conveniently anonymous URL ... and brazenly encourages Gawker visitors to read the screenplay illegally with the invitation to 'Enjoy!' it."
The moviemaker says Gawker refused his repeated demand to remove the links.
He seeks statutory, compensatory and punitive damages from Gawker Media (a Delaware corporation), Gawker Media Group (a Cayman Island corporation), Gawker Entertainment, and Anonfiles.com, an unknown entity or person.
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