As I have previously discussed, the declaratory judgment that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary character Sherlock Holmes is public domain was affirmed by the 7th Circuit. Leslie Klinger, author of In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, was also awarded attorney’s fees in his successful non-infringement case. In ordering the fees be paid by the estate of Conan Doyle, Judge Richard A. Posner described the estate’s practice of collecting licensing fees on an expired copyright and using book sellers to enforce the practice as an “unlawful business strategy.”
See Rita J. Yoon, Judge Posner Orders Sherlock Holmes Estate to pay Attorney’s Fees for ‘Form of Extortion,” Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., The National Law Review, Oct. 4, 2014.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.
