This might not be so elementary. It's more of a three-pipe problem. It
looks like it calls for a legal opinion, but here are items that may shed
some light on the matter. I wouldn't rely on either of them.
Assuming that these fall under "fair use"....
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This is from the March 14, 1991 (London) Times:
WITH his wife, Mollie, an author in her own right, Michael Hardwick
formed an astonishingly prolific writing team which is associated in the
public mind with the books they created out of popular television series
such as Upstairs, Downstairs. Besides these ''novelisations'', as their
authors styled them, Michael Hardwick produced a single volume abridgement of
Trollope's Palliser novels. He also wrote a series of Sherlock Holmes novels
which continued the life and adventures of the great detective, until he was
forbidden to do so in 1988 by Dame Jean Conan Doyle, holder of the American
copyright on her father's works. He was, like his wife, an authority on
Sherlock Holmes and they had a wide range of works on Arthur Conan
Doyle's hero to their credit, including The Sherlock Holmes Companion,
one of their earliest works, published in 1962.
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This is a letter to the editor, The New York Times, January 23, 1983
To the Editor:
In his recent article about producer Sy Weintraub's new film version
of the Sherlock Holmes stories "The Sign of Four" and "The Hound of the
Baskervilles," Michael Billington states that "the Sherlock Holmes works
are now in the public domain everywhere except the United States and Germany:
"The Game's Afoot:Sherlock Holmes Returns to the Screen," Dec. 5, 1982.
This statement is inaccurate since the United States copyright protection
has actually expired for all of the Sherlock Holmes stories written before
1907, i.e., the bulk of them.
Your readers may also be interested in knowing that others are now also
producing films of the public domain Sherlock Holmes stories for United
States exhibition. Among the expected American offerings are 13 films of
my client, Granada Television Internaitonal Limited, as well as the BBC's
own "The Hound of the Baskervilles," I understand that the BBC's film has
already been produced, and Granada is now proceeding with its productions.
Granada's films will be faithful dramatizaitons adapted for television
to be included in the public television's "Mystery!" series (made possible with
financing from Mobil Corporation). Ten of the Granada films will be of
Sherlock Homes stories first published in the 1890's and the other three
of stories first published in 1903.
Roger L. Zissu, New York City
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Andrew Steinberg andrewst@u.washington.edu
Law Librarianship Program Seattle, Washington USA
University of Washington "Illegitimi non carborundum"
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On Mon, 16 May 1994, Richard Leiter wrote:
> Does any know if the Sherlock Holmes stories are still copyrighted or are
> they in the public domain?
>
> Thanks-
>
> Richard Leiter
> richlei@beacon.regent.edu
> or,
> 804-523-7179
>
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