Editing Sherlock Holmes (section)

===Copyright issues===
The copyright for Conan Doyle's works expired in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia at the end of 1980, fifty years after Conan Doyle's death.<ref>{{cite web|last=Litwak|first=Mark|date=12 March 2013|title=Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Public Domain|url=http://www.ifp.org/resources/sherlock-holmes-and-the-case-of-the-public-domain/|access-date=15 September 2016|website=Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP)|archive-date=16 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916040702/http://www.ifp.org/resources/sherlock-holmes-and-the-case-of-the-public-domain/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYTcopyright">{{cite news|last=Itzkoff|first=Dave|date=19 January 2010|title=For the Heirs to Holmes, a Tangled Web|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/books/19sherlock.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=12 February 2017|archive-date=6 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706021107/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/books/19sherlock.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, it was revived in 1996 due to [[Copyright Duration Directive|new provisions]] harmonising UK law with that of the European Union, and expired again at the end of 2000 (seventy years after Conan Doyle's death).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Locating U.K. Copyright Holders: The WATCH File |url=https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/watch/uk/ |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=Harry Ransom Center |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216171437/https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/watch/uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The author's works are now in the [[public domain]] in those countries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ownership of the Sherlock Holmes Stories|url=https://www.sherlockian.net/teaching/ownership/|access-date=8 November 2020|website=Sherlockian.net|language=en-US|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416014136/https://www.sherlockian.net/teaching/ownership/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Malekos Smith|first=Jessica L.|date=27 June 2016|title=Sherlock Holmes & the Case of the Contested Copyright|url=https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1164&context=ckjip|journal=Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property|volume=15|issue=2|pages=537–554|access-date=8 November 2020|archive-date=9 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709165714/https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1164&context=ckjip|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the United States, all works published before 1923 entered public domain by 1998, but, as ten Holmes stories were published after that date, the Conan Doyle estate maintained that the Holmes and Watson characters as a whole were still under copyright.{{r|NYTcopyright}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Masnick|first=Mike|date=26 May 2015|title=Sherlock Holmes And The Case Of The Never Ending Copyright Dispute|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150524/17521431095/sherlock-holmes-case-never-ending-copyright-dispute.shtml|access-date=26 December 2019|website=Techdirt|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227042630/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150524/17521431095/sherlock-holmes-case-never-ending-copyright-dispute.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, [[Leslie S. Klinger]] (lawyer and editor of ''The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes'') [[Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd.|sued the Conan Doyle estate]] in order to have the characters of Holmes and Watson declared public domain in the United States. Klinger was successful: as a result, the only stories still under copyright in the US due to the ruling, as of that time, were those collected in ''[[The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes]]'' other than "[[The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone]]" and "[[The Problem of Thor Bridge]]": a total of ten stories.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://free-sherlock.com/ |title=Holmes belongs to the world |publisher=Free Sherlock! |date=14 February 2013 |access-date=15 April 2013 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102530/https://free-sherlock.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="reuters appeal decision">{{cite news|last1=Stempel|first1=Jonathan|title=Sherlock Holmes belongs to the public, U.S. court rules|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sherlockholmes-lawsuit-idUKKBN0ER2BP20140616|access-date=16 June 2014|work=Reuters|date=16 June 2014|archive-date=10 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310004822/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sherlockholmes-lawsuit-idUKKBN0ER2BP20140616|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2020, although the United States court ruling and the passage of time meant that most of the Holmes stories and characters were in the public domain in that country, the Doyle estate legally challenged the use of Sherlock Holmes in the film ''[[Enola Holmes (film)|Enola Holmes]]'' in a complaint filed in the United States.<ref name="denofgeek.com">{{cite web |last1=Britt |first1=Ryan |date=26 June 2020 |title=Conan Doyle Estate Sues Netflix Enola Holmes |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/conan-doyle-estate-sues-netflix-enola-holmes/ |website=Den of Geek |access-date=6 November 2020 |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030140223/https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/conan-doyle-estate-sues-netflix-enola-holmes/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Doyle estate alleged that the film depicts Holmes with personality traits that were only exhibited by the character in the stories still under copyright.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mahdawi|first=Arwa|date=7 October 2020|title=The curious case of Sherlock Holmes' evolving emotions|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/07/the-curious-case-of-sherlock-holmes-evolving-emotions|access-date=11 November 2020|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115004712/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/07/the-curious-case-of-sherlock-holmes-evolving-emotions|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/conan-doyle-estate-sues-netflix-coming-movie-sherlock-holmes-sister-1300108 |title=Conan Doyle Estate Sues Netflix Over Coming Movie About Sherlock Holmes' Sister |website=The Hollywood Reporter |last=Gardner |first=Eriq |date=24 June 2020 |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=24 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624232025/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/conan-doyle-estate-sues-netflix-coming-movie-sherlock-holmes-sister-1300108 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 18 December 2020, the lawsuit was [[dismissed with prejudice]] by [[stipulation]] of all parties.<ref>{{cite web|first=Alison|last=Flood|date=22 December 2020|title=Lawsuit over 'warmer' Sherlock depicted in Enola Holmes dismissed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/22/lawsuit-copyright-warmer-sherlock-holmes-dismissed-enola-holmes|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124024730/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/22/lawsuit-copyright-warmer-sherlock-holmes-dismissed-enola-holmes|archive-date=24 January 2021|access-date=23 December 2020|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Aaron|last=Moss|date=20 December 2020|title="Enola Holmes" Copyright Lawsuit Dismissed: Unsolved, Yet Resolved|url=https://copyrightlately.com/enola-holmes-copyright-lawsuit-dismissed/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220180827/https://copyrightlately.com/enola-holmes-copyright-lawsuit-dismissed/|archive-date=20 December 2020|access-date=23 December 2020|website=Copyright Lately|quote=That means the case was probably settled, although we don't know for sure.}}</ref>

The remaining ten Holmes stories moved out of copyright in the United States between 1 January 2019 and 1 January 2023, leaving the stories and characters completely in the public domain in the US as of the latter date.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-30 |title=2023 public domain debuts include last Sherlock Holmes work |url=https://apnews.com/article/public-domain-2023-5c30746553953b5accffcbaa9e860de0 |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=1 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101053156/https://apnews.com/article/public-domain-2023-5c30746553953b5accffcbaa9e860de0 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Jennifer |title=January 1, 2023 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1927 are open to all! |url=https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2023/ |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=Duke University School of Law |language=en |archive-date=2 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102212202/https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2023/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nevala-Lee |first=Alec |date=2025-01-07 |title=How Sherlock Holmes Broke Copyright Law |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2025/01/how-sherlock-holmes-broke-copyright-law/681223/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>