Copyright Protection? Elementary, My Dear Watson; Estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Takes Case to US

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Sept. 17, 2014 - PRLog -- The estate of the world’s most famous literary detective is asking the U.S Supreme Court for relief in a copyright battle involving the iconic Sherlock Holmes.

John J. Bursch, a partner and co-chair of Warner Norcross & Judd’s Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group, leads the team of attorneys who are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Conan Doyle Estate Ltd. v. Klinger.  In that case, judges in the Seventh Circuit ruled that the character of the pipe-smoking detective was in the public domain, allowing author Leslie Klinger to proceed with plans to publish a collection of new stories without permission – and without paying royalties to the Conan Doyle estate.

Bursch and his colleagues argue that the estate still holds a copyright on the last 10 stories of the Sherlock Holmes canon.  The estate is asking Klinger to produce his proposed book for judicial review to ensure that it doesn’t infringe on the protected elements in the last 10 stories, which is entirely reasonable, Bursch says.

“The estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle absolutely has the right to protect the copyrights of the Sherlock Holmes character,” said Bursch, who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court eight times in the past four years.  “The estate is not saying that Mr. Klinger can’t publish the collection.  It’s not even saying he has to pay a royalty fee.

“But the estate IS saying that courts routinely require plaintiffs seeking declarations of non-infringement to come forward with their proposed work so that a court can review it and determine whether any elements infringe the defendant’s intellectual property.  This is both fair and reasonable.”

Conan Doyle began writing stories about the now-famous detective in the late 1880s, eventually publishing more than 50 stories and four novels featuring Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. John Watson.  The last of these were published in 1927, which means that the final 10 stories are still protected under the Copyright Act of 1909.

“This lawsuit affects so much more than 10 Sherlock Holmes stories,” Bursch said.  “Other affected characters include such treasures as A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat, Ian Fleming’s James Bond, DC Comics’ Superman and many others.

“More importantly, the Seventh Circuit’s decision creates a jurisdictional rift in intellectual property law, where the identical case could be decided on the merits in one circuit and dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in another, based solely on where the suit happens to be filed.  All the estate asks is that the courts look at a concrete document, not one that is hypothetical, before making a decision.”

Bursch estimates the Supreme Court will decide whether or not to hear the case before the end of the year.

About Warner Norcross

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