Sherlock Holmes has become completely in the public domain since January 1once Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s latest original work on this legendary character has been released, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes.
Copyright law is not elementary, dear Watson, but from yesterday it will be much easier for Sherlock Holmes to continue to survive through other creators. The copyright expiration of Doyle’s latest work ends a lengthy legal debate. For decades, the heirs to his vast fortune have argued that although Sherlock Holmes’ early works were in the public domain, the fact that later books by Doyle were not meant that they were not. the character still remained “cloistered” in the leonine copyright laws.
It must be said that the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlett, was published in 1887 and was not in the public domain until January 1, 1981, over a hundred years. However, in 1995 an addition to US copyright law was passed and the detective was locked up again. Once The Case-Book has passed into the public domain, that argument is moot.
Now anyone could write their own Sherlock Holmes stories or use the character in other types of content without fear of infringing rights. And it is that the public domain adds to the global Cultural Heritage and allows anyone to republish, remix, or redo works without the permission of the rights holder. That only happens long after the original author is dead, as it is in this case, and should put an end to the torturous legal debate over how copyright law should treat this legendary character. Including active lawsuits such as the one filed against Netflix for its spin-off Enola Holmes.
And for next year around this time pay attention because another even more relevant copyright case will arrive, since it will be nothing less than Mickey Mouse the one that happens to be in the public domain. For many years, Disney has lobbied to extend its rights, and the company is likely to use every tool at its disposal to extend its control over the intellectual property.
Content protection is logical and must be done for the survival of the creators, but for centuries and once a character has derived billions of dollars? And in relation to the Internet what to tell you. Criticism is still resounding against the latest Copyright directives that have imposed new filters, barriers and restrictions.
We’ll see what happens with a Sherlock Holmes released yesterday and with Mickey Mouse next year. Virtue is always in balance. Elementary, dear Watson!
