Is Sherlock Holmes public domain?!

[The Bruce]

Are there no official releases of the original material? How about official canon?

Books approved by estate of Arthur Conan Doyle?

 

[Dr.]

I think it’s complicated. Some of the earliest stories have lapsed into public domain - while later ones may still be copyrighted. But this depends on which definition of copyright is being evoked (which, in turn, varies from country to country).

Quite apart from the specific stories, the question is whether the Sherlock Holmes character (introduced way back in 1887) is public domain. E.g.: The producers of Elementary didn’t pay fees to the Conan Doyle estate because (they claimed) all the stuff they used was in now in the public domain (according to US law).

 

[KevanG]

Public domain is screwy across international borders. Existing copyright/trademarks are much easier.

Here's a link that sort of explains it.