US Supreme Court Leaves Sherlock Holmes in Public Domain

Washington – The petition filed by the heirs of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has been refused hearing by the United States Supreme Court on Monday, leaving in effect the adventures of fictional crime solver Sherlock Holmes as a public domain.

Report said a ruling by an appeals court in June allowed a US writer and editor to publish a book whose characters were inspired by the Scottish writer, without paying royalties. In said decision, the court ruled that since the characters in the Sherlock Holmes books were created before the year 1923, the appeals court said they can no longer be protected by copyright.

And since the Supreme Court took no action on the challenge, the appeals court decision remains in effect.

Sherlock Holmes and his loyal sidekick Dr. Watson, recently in motion pictures played by Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, are Doyle characters who first appeared in 1887. The two solve crimes in four novels and 56 stories, published worldwide, including in the United States, report said.

These works are now in the public domain except for the last 10, which were published after 1923. The last batch of stories have copyright protection until December 31, 2022, report said.

Source: GMA News Online