Sherlock Loses His Protections

What would Conan Doyle say? From In Reference to Murder:

A slew of new creative works (music, movies, books) enter the public domain in the U.S. in 2023, including The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, meaning that every Sherlock story will be out of copyright. This is legally important since the Arthur Conan Doyle estate has been suing just about everybody in recent years, even when it comes to certain public domain works. Most infamously, the Doyle Estate went after the creators of the Enola Holmes series, claiming a copyright over Sherlock stories where Holmes was “capable of friendship,” “expressed emotion,” or “respected women,” based on the idea that these character traits are copyrightable. Although the cased was dismissed “with prejudice” (e.g., likely settled), with all Holmes stories now in public domain, such cases will no longer be tying up the courts. Author Cory Doctrow has an overview of the 2023 public domain landscape.

READ MORE: “2023 Public Domain Debuts Include Last Sherlock Holmes Work” (Associated Press).