Sherlock Holmes: an adventure in the public domain

US Supreme Court refuses to hear 'emergency petition' from Conan Doyle estate after Sherlock Holmes loses copyright protection

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in 'The Adventure of Sliver Blaze'
(Image credit: The Victorian Web/ Sidney Paget)

The US Supreme Court has dismissed a request made by the heirs of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to halt the publication of a new Sherlock Holmes book.

Supreme Court judge Elena Kagan refused to hear the Conan Doyle family's "emergency petition" regarding two authors' refusal to pay a licensing fee for depicting the author's characters in their forthcoming short story collection, In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up