What the Conan Doyle trial means for ‘Sherlock’ season 4 … if anything

The case between author / editor Leslie Klinger and the Arthur Conan Doyle estate over the past year has been a fascinating one to follow, mostly for the reason that it covers much of the gamut of what Sherlock Holmes is in the modern era and how companies should be paying back licensing fees to the estate.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the ruling here was an interesting one as the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has found that much of the original work of “Sherlock Holmes” is free to public use thanks to the expiration of the copyright. The argument of the Conan Doyle estate has been that the character evolved over time, and therefore should have a copyright that is intact for many more years.

So what does this mean for “Sherlock” the series as a whole? That is a very difficult question to answer without knowledge of the BBC legal office. The network has paid licensing to the estate over the Benedict Cumberbatch series so far, as has Warner Bros. for their feature films and CBS over their series “Elementary.” This may have been a formality to these organizations, or simply a move they made to have the estate on their side or to avoid a lengthy legal battle. We cannot imagine things changing much for season 4 (whenever it films or airs), largely because it makes sense to continue having the blessing of the Conan Doyle family. Plus, there is plenty of money to go around given that this is one of the most profitable shows on TV right now around the globe.

This will have no bearing at all on when the show returns; as we have said more times than we can count now, this will depend almost strictly on the availability of the stars along with writer-producers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.

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Photo: BBC One