HUGE NEWS!!! Free Sherlock has succeeded!
In the more than 125 years since he first appeared, Sherlock Holmes has popped up everywhere from fan-fiction set in outer space to screen adaptations like CBS’s “Elementary,” set in contemporary Manhattan. But now, following a legal ruling, the deerstalker-wearing detective is headed to another destination: the public domain.
A federal judge has issued a declarative judgment stating that Holmes, Watson, 221B Baker Street, the dastardly Professor Moriarty and other elements included in the 50 Holmes works Arthur Conan Doyle published before January 1, 1923, are no longer covered by United States copyright law, and can be freely used by new creators without paying any licensing fee to the Conan Doyle estate.
Sherlock Holmes Is in the Public Domain, American Judge Rules
Lady Karasu 