Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd.

Arthur Conan Doyle published 56 Sherlock Holmes stories between 1887 and 1927; copyright legislation extended protection for his last 10 books (published 1923-1927), but the copyrights on his earlier, roughly 50 pre-1923 stories had already expired into the public domain. Leslie Klinger (defendant) published a compilation of Holmes-inspired stories under a $5,000 license from the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd. (Doyle Estate) (plaintiff), but when Klinger sought to publish a sequel without paying for another license, the Doyle Estate threatened to block distribution, arguing the Holmes character remained protected as a whole until the final story entered the public domain; Klinger sued for a declaratory judgment that he could freely use material from the pre-1923 stories, and the district court agreed, prompting the Doyle Estate's appeal.