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Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Copyright Law Nate Send a noteboard - 09/12/2010 05:50:11 PM
Spoiler alert: there's not actually a case, I just have a question. If this isn't the right board for it, feel free to move me to the community board.

I've read that the copyright on the canon Holmes stories ran out in Canada in 1980, in the UK in 2000, and that only one of the volumes remains copyrighted in the US. However, does anyone know if the characters themselves are still copyrighted?

What I mean is, can a person, any person, write their own Sherlock Holmes story these days? Can that person attempt to make a profit off of them so long as the stories are original?

(Yes, this means I have an idea I'm playing with.)
Warder to starry_nite

Chapterfish — Nate's Writing Blog
http://chapterfish.wordpress.com
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Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Copyright Law - 09/12/2010 05:50:11 PM 943 Views
I am not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure that is the case. *NM* - 09/12/2010 06:13:11 PM 192 Views
You mean like Maurice Leblanc did in 1906? - 09/12/2010 06:30:10 PM 521 Views
I did a bit of sleuthing. - 10/12/2010 12:06:38 AM 908 Views
You're my hero. - 10/12/2010 12:26:19 AM 762 Views
There are quite a few - 10/12/2010 01:44:24 AM 643 Views
You might want to ask an actual lawyer. - 21/12/2010 01:08:15 AM 572 Views

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