The Case Is Closed on Sherlock's Copyright
by John Aquino on 11/25/14
Just a brief update on the copyright protection--or general lack of it--for the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes.
On Nov. 3, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for review of the Conan Doyle Estate. The petition asked the court the following question: "whether the federal courts have jurisdiction to issue a declaration of non-infringement when a plaintiff is unable or unwilling to come forward with a concrete work for comparison with the defendants' existing intellectual property."
The Supreme Court's denial of review finally establishes that characters and elements from 46 Sherlock Holmes works have fallen into the public domain and can be used by Klinger and others without permission or fee. Ten stories are still under copyright protection.
On Nov. 18, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois noted that the dispute over fees had been resolved by the parties and Klinger's fee petition had been withdrawn.
The case is closed.
Fini.
Copyright 2014 by John T. Aquino
