Despite earlier losses the estate of Dame Jean Conan Doyle is at it again.

[FlyingRon]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Yes

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/16/us/sherlock-holmes-supreme-court/index.html?hpt=ju_c2

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to Scotus Blog commentary on the continuing saga of Sherlock: http://www.scotusblog.com/2014/07/sherlock-holmes-and-the-mystery-of-copyright/

I am sympathetic to the estate's stance that the characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are still under the protection of copyright laws.

 

[FlyingRon]

I'm not sympathetic at all. The stated "if these things are in the public domain we can't make money" is hardly a compelling argument.
We've travelled way outside copyright protection to claim that nobody can use a character invented in a book that is now in the public domain. Contrary to their assertions, all the character development really needed for much of the derivative stuff was laid down in A Study In Scarlet.

 

[quincy]

I'm not sympathetic at all. The stated "if these things are in the public domain we can't make money" is hardly a compelling argument.
We've travelled way outside copyright protection to claim that nobody can use a character invented in a book that is now in the public domain. Contrary to their assertions, all the character development really needed for much of the derivative stuff was laid down in A Study In Scarlet.

The argument is definitely about money but it is also about the characters that have appeared in a series of books that span many years, with ten books are not yet in the public domain. They remain copyright-protected.

I can see where a legitimate argument is made for protecting the characters. It can be said that the characters were being developed from first book to last, and the last have the fully developed characters that are still rights-protected.

At any rate, whenever the copyright actions by Doyle's estate are exhausted, and when it is finally decided when it will be that the characters must join the pre-1923 Sherlock books already in the public domain, there are probably not too many people who will want to use Sherlock or Watson as characters, over the risk of infringing on the trademark rights in the characters that are held by the estate.

But I guess I can be happy with whatever is finally decided.

 

[FlyingRon]

I don't have any problem with them asserting trademark rights (if in fact the have them). I have an issue with perverting copyright beyond what it is intended to do.

 

[quincy]

I don't have any problem with them asserting trademark rights (if in fact the have them). I have an issue with perverting copyright beyond what it is intended to do.

Copyright law is already perverted, if you ask tranquility.

I admit I have mixed feelings on where Sherlock and Watson belong - under the protective wing of copyright law or in the public domain with most of their tales. I guess the problem for me is that I can see and accept as legitimate the arguments coming from both sides - and nothing yet is tipping the balance for me.