Copyright Law

Some more info on the very fascinating copyright issues surrounding the Holmes estate:

http://grumpyoldbookman.blogspot.com/2005/08/detective-work-on-sherlock-...

It's never illegal to create anything. You can write a play where Sherlock Holmes, Mickey Mouse, and Madeline Albright are launched into space if you like. Nobody will bust down your door just for writing it. This is the essense of "fanfiction" which, contrary to popular belief, consists of more than Harry Potter porn.

Fanfiction is, in fact, a valuable excersize, especially for the beginning author, because it lets him focus on discrete elements like characterization or plot, while letting him shorthand his way through others, like exposition or the heavy lifting of creating a believable world from scratch. It is also a crutch, however, because part of being a good writer is being able to do all of those things yourself, and many fanfiction writes never leave the comfort of someone else's characters and settings, and consequently their growth as creators is severely stunted. A painter sketching a study is in the same position -- studies are helpful for figuring out poses and composition; but useless if they doesn't eventually lead to a final, original work.

If you're just starting out and you don't want to create your own awesome detective, go for it. You might learn something that you'll use when you create your own characters in the next play you write. The problem comes if you intend to ever publish or produce this work.

Doyle died in 1923, which means that most of his stories are now in the public domain (in most countires, at least). That is, you can read their texts online, and theoretically anyone could print them and sell them in a book. Normally this would mean that Doyle's characters would be in the public domain as well, but it turns out that his estate has trademarked the iconic detective, along with many of the other characters (presumably, say, Watson):

http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/08/18/sherlock-holmes-in-a-leotard-ask...

Whether this would stand up in court, and whether you have the money, time, or inclination to pursue it, is another matter. My guesses are (a) yes, and (b) no, but I'm not a lawyer and I don't know you.

As for the NY Musical Theatre Festival, my guess is that the author got permission; theoretically the Festival should have required it before greenlighting the project. Otherwise he (along with the Festival) was risking heaps of trouble. Alternately, perhaps he was willing to take his use of the character to court under Fair Use, which (in the US) allows for derivative work if it both creates something substantially new or innovative, AND also does not infringe on the copyright owner's ablity to profit from the original. A new story starring Sherlock Holmes, in a medium other than print (ie a play), might fall into that category, or it might not.

Thanks for that! I wonder if there's a way to find a list of stuff that's public domain. What an awesome point of inspiration that could be!

I think I've actually seen a show based on Sherlock Holmes in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, which is a fairly large festival. I believe the characters of Sherlock Holmes are all under Public Domain, but I'm not entirely sure of that. Still, though, you ought to be safe.

http://www.copyright.gov/

Welcome!

I'm not certain what the legalities are, but I'd say you're safe unless you plan on publishing the play. Even if you produce it, unless it's on Broadway or at a major regional theater it will be probably fly under the radar.

You could also change the name, just to be safe.