Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate sues Netflix for giving Sherlock Holmes too many feelings; The Verge, June 25, 2020

Adi Robertson, The Verge; Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate sues Netflix for giving Sherlock Holmes too many feelings

"The estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has sued Netflix over its upcoming film Enola Holmes,arguing that the movie’s depiction of public domain character Sherlock Holmes having emotions and respecting women violates Doyle’s copyright.

Enola Holmes is based on a series of novels by Nancy Springer starring a newly created teenage sister of the famous detective. They feature many elements from Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, and most of these elements aren’t covered by copyright, thanks to a series of court rulings in the early 2010s. Details from 10 stories, however, are still owned by Doyle’s estate. The estate argues that Springer’s books — and by extension Netflix’s adaptation — draw key elements from those stories. It’s suing not only Netflix, but Springer, her publisher Penguin Random House, and the film’s production company for unspecified financial damages.

The Doyle estate made a similar argument five years ago in a lawsuit against Miramax for its film Mr. Holmes — among other things, it claimed Mr. Holmes included plot details about Holmes’ retirement, which only happens in the final stories. But its new argument is a lot more abstract: basically, if this movie wants Sherlock Holmes to express emotions, its creators need to pay up."

‘Mr. Holmes’ Lawsuit Reaches Settlement, Says Arthur Conan Doyle Estate Attorney; Variety, 9/3/15

Ted Johnson, Variety; ‘Mr. Holmes’ Lawsuit Reaches Settlement, Says Arthur Conan Doyle Estate Attorney:

"The attorney for the estate of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle said they have reached an agreement in principle with the makers of the recent Sherlock Holmes movie “Mr. Holmes,” which the estate claimed infringed on stories that still remain under copyright.

In May, the Conan Doyle estate sued Miramax, Roadside Attractions and director Bill Condon over the movie, which starred Ian McKellen in the title role and opened in July. The lawsuit also named writer Mitch Cullin and Penguin Random House, publisher of Cullin’s “A Slight Trick of the Mind” — a new Holmes tale on which the movie “Mr. Holmes” is based...

On Wednesday, Allison and Laura Schauer Ives, attorney for Penguin Random House and Cullin, filed a notice of dismissal for their portion of the case, without costs to any party. Allison said that the e-book version of “A Slight Trick of the Mind” now acknowledges “use of copyrighted material by kind permission of the Conan Doyle estate.”

The movie depicted an aged, retired Holmes looking back on his life and getting involved in an unsolved case.

The estate noted in its lawsuit that although many of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes works are in the public domain, 10 works published between 1923 and 1927 remain under copyright. Those works develop details of Holmes’ retirement and later life."

Mr Holmes and the strange case of the alleged copyright infringement; Guardian, 5/26/15

Ben Child, Guardian; Mr Holmes and the strange case of the alleged copyright infringement:

"The estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is suing Hollywood studio Miramax over a forthcoming detective mystery starring Ian McKellen as an elderly Sherlock Holmes.

Bill Condon’s film Mr Holmes is based on the 2005 book A Slight Trick of the Mind by US author Mitch Cullin, but Conan Doyle’s heirs say it also borrows from later stories by the great Scottish novelist which remain under copyright in the US. Most Sherlock Holmes stories are now in the public domain, a situation which has led to a glut of productions featuring the famous sleuth on the big and small screens in recent years.

The new suit was filed in New Mexico, where Cullin was born, last week. It is the latest attempt by the Conan Doyle estate to re-establish copyright over Sherlock Holmes stories in the US, and follows the failure of a previous legal action last August."