June 2014

It’s elementary, Watson! Whether yo like it or not, Sherlock Holmes’ character is no longer protected by copyright. Two Herrick, Feinstein LLP attorneys began their reviewed the recent 7th Circuit Appeal decision as following: “It didn’t take much deducing for the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to rule on June 16th that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, the famous character sleuths created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the early 19th century, are in the public domain and free for public use. The resolution of this closely-watched copyright dispute has significant implications for the creation of future works featuring the Holmes and Watson characters because most aspects of these characters, according to the Seventh Circuit, are now “fair game.” …”

Read: Case Solved: Conan Doyle Estate Loses Copyright Dispute Over Sherlock Holmes (EASL Blog)