Public Domain: The Great Gatsby

CloLee
New Contributor III

Hi, I remember this being asked on the old forum but I can't find anything recent.  I've had a design taken down as it quotes 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a work that became public domain on 1st January 2021.  I have emailed Content Review to query their decision but does anyone know why references to 'The Great Gatsby' aren't allowed.  Thanks.

  • ul
1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

@CloLee and @CreativeLeahG 

'The Great Gatsby' is in the public domain now, but the author's name has been trademarked by his estate.  If you mentioned  F. Scott F... by name in either your description or tags, that would get your products pulled.   (It's a silly situation, I know.  I mean how do you write about a book without mentioning its author?)

Here is a link to the TESS search on FSF.

(I hope this post doesn't get yanked for the above reason.  🙄 )

_____________
Saints_Aplenty

View solution in original post

4 REPLIES 4

CreativeLeahG
Honored Contributor III

I also had my products removed despite there being a few thousand that remain with this phrase.

@CloLee and @CreativeLeahG 

'The Great Gatsby' is in the public domain now, but the author's name has been trademarked by his estate.  If you mentioned  F. Scott F... by name in either your description or tags, that would get your products pulled.   (It's a silly situation, I know.  I mean how do you write about a book without mentioning its author?)

Here is a link to the TESS search on FSF.

(I hope this post doesn't get yanked for the above reason.  🙄 )

_____________
Saints_Aplenty

@Saints_Aplenty  Thank you very much for your answer - that explains it!  I had credited him in small print because I thought that was the right thing to do!

I never mentioned the authors name and when i queried it I was told the words 'the great gatsby' was the issue. It wasn't in my title, my description or my tags, it was in the invitation text. My prodoct was pulled though BEFORE 2021, so probably was an issue prior.