Quentin Tarantino's lawsuit against a website which posted a link to his leaked film script has been dismissed.

The filmmaker took action earlier this year, accusing Gawker Media LLC of contributory copyright infringement for posting a link to his 146-page script for a planned film called The Hateful Eight.

The star claimed that although the site had not published the script, it had made it accessible by linking to it.

However, a judge in the US has now granted the gossip website's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

The court said the Oscar-winner "failed to adequately plead facts establishing direct infringement by a third party or facts that would demonstrate Gawker either caused, induced, or materially contributed to the alleged direct infringement of those third party infringers".

The ruling stated: "Nowhere in these paragraphs or anywhere else in the complaint does Plaintiff allege a single act of direct infringement committed by any member of the general public that would support Plaintiff's claim for contributory infringement. Instead, Plaintiff merely speculates that some direct infringement must have taken place. For example, Plaintiff's complaint fails to allege the identity of a single third-party infringer, the date, the time, or the details of a single instance of third-party infringement, or, more importantly, how Defendant allegedly caused, induced, or materially contributed to the infringement by those third parties."

However, Tarantino - who shelved his plans for the Western following the leak - is allowed to refile the lawsuit if he makes the necessary alterations. He has until May 1 to file an amended complaint.

Source: Press Release