Even though James Dean who now turns 83 this year, had died long before the internet, Facebook and even Twitter were ever invented, the former Hollywood heartthrob is caught up in a rather strange, tricky and legal question: Should people be allowed to tweet in the name of dead celebrities?

A Twitter fan account that goes by the user name @JamesDean is being sued by James Dean's estate.

The James Dean Twitter account has more than 8,000 followers, has sent more than 2,200 tweets and is being managed by an unknown owner or owners to which the estate didn't sit well that eventually led to the said lawsuit.

The company behind the lawsuit is CMG Worldwide, a firm that runs not only the actor's estate but also several accounts of every deceased celebrity you could think of.

The management's CEO Mark Roesler thinks that @JamesDean should not be around and asked Twitter to shut it down.

"No, we did not sanction the James Dean official Twitter account. There is no official Twitter site for James Dean because it's been misappropriated by an individual," CMG Worldwide CEO Mark Roesler told ABC News.

Unfortunately Twitter refused to cooperate, and the firm went to court in Indiana

"They're fighting it because they don't want to open the door to lots of claims of people saying hey this was a dead celebrity that needs protection and you're stealing our brand," said attorney Alison Triessl, who is not affiliated with this case.

Twitter did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.

In court documents, an email between Twitter and CMG states "Twitter does not have a username reservation policy." Legal experts say the case, now in federal court, could be "ground breaking" for other late celebrities.

"There's no question that this is going to be a precedent setting case," Triessl said.

CMG Worldwide is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.