The heirs of Orwell pursue those who use the number "1984"

Orwell's famous dystopia “1984” to some extent influenced the development of a whole epoch, and the impact that the novel had on the minds of readers cannot be fully appreciated. Orwell retired to a better world in 1950, and the rights to his intellectual heritage were transferred to his relatives.

And the heirs are now actively sending notice of copyright infringement to those who use the number "1984". In particular, such a notice was received by an Internet radio station that sold T-shirts with the specified number. More specifically, the owner of the 1201 Beyond resource tried to sell these T-shirts.

When he didn't have a website, he used CafePress to sell such t-shirts. None of them was sold, and his “shop” remained unnoticed until he was noticed by the heirs of Orwell. Last week they sent a notice that CafePress no longer allows you to sell T-shirts with this design:
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The notification, in particular, contains information that George Orwell’s quotations are printed on T-shirts. As you can see, there are no quotes on the T-shirt, except for the ill-fated number. In this case, the copyright on the numbers can not belong to anyone.



According to the seller of T-shirts, the actions of the heirs are illegal, and Orwell himself would never have approved such actions. CafePress has already removed the pages with the intended design of T-shirts from the public. Although the “respondent” has the right to file an application for review of the complaint, he does not intend to do so.



Bill Hamilton, representing the interests of Orwell’s heirs, believes that they are right. The reason - the current owners of the works of Orwell did not license the right to his works. Selling t-shirts referring to the novel “1984” without a proper license is a direct infringement of copyright.