You can trademark a character that is sufficiently distinctive.
Ah. That explains it. So Sherlock Holmes isn't distinctive enough, I guess.
Jayne: There's times I think you don't take me seriously. I think that ought to change. Mal: Do you think it's likely to?
'Our Mrs. Reynolds'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
tommyrot - Nov 04, 2014 8:08:58 am PST #22832 of 28343
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Connie Neil - Nov 04, 2014 8:23:19 am PST #22833 of 28343
brillig
So Sherlock Holmes isn't distinctive enough, I guess.
Well, not anymore. How many brilliant, eccentric, aggravating detectives with stolid, loyal sidekicks are out there? Oh, wait, all the ones that derived from Holmes and Watson. Maybe the Doyle estate just didn't think of it.
Ginger - Nov 04, 2014 8:39:02 am PST #22834 of 28343
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I know that Burroughs was one of the first authors to incorporate, and ERB Inc.'s aggressive pursuit of any unauthorized use of Tarzan was unprecedented.
I doubt that Arthur Conan Doyle was particularly invested in having Sherlock Holmes be his legacy.
Connie Neil - Nov 04, 2014 8:47:03 am PST #22835 of 28343
brillig
Yeah, Doyle was sick of him--at least for a while. I don't remember if he brought Holmes back from the dead just to stop from being pestered or if the money got to him.
Burrell - Nov 04, 2014 9:47:33 am PST #22836 of 28343
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
The case of the disputed Sherlock Holmes copyright is hereby closed after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left intact a ruling that said 50 works featuring the famed fictional detective are in the public domain.
Wow. I am pretty sure that my friend helped to write that ruling. I know he worked on that case. He must be stoked.
Sparky1 - Nov 04, 2014 9:51:55 am PST #22837 of 28343
Librarian Warlord
I haven't been able to find out what the estate of Doyle's argument was
They basically said that the character, etc., wasn't finished until all the stories were written -- so Holmes should remain under copyright protection until all the stories entered the public domain. (I think the last 10 years of stories are still under copyright protection, so you can't use any elements unique to those stories.)
Dana - Nov 06, 2014 9:02:43 am PST #22838 of 28343
I'm terrifically busy with my ennui.
erikaj - Nov 07, 2014 2:42:35 pm PST #22839 of 28343
Always Anti-fascist!
I can't say enough about Katha Pollitt's new book, though I know that in general, we don't talk about political books on Lit Buff, but it's really good.
DebetEsse - Nov 07, 2014 5:56:57 pm PST #22840 of 28343
Woe to the fucking wicked.
So, somewhere (I honestly don't recall where), I happened upon the name "Samuel Delany" as a Sci-Fi author worth reading. I'm now 18% into Trouble on Triton. I think I like it. I'm not entirely sure. Anyone read any of his stuff?
Ginger - Nov 07, 2014 6:20:36 pm PST #22841 of 28343
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Chip Delaney is one of the sf greats -- winner of Hugos and Nebulas and named an SFWA Grand Master. He was the first major African-American and probably the first openly gay SF writer. His work, particularly his work in the '70s, was enormously influential.
I haven't read him in years. I should remedy that. I am, however, one of the people who could not finish Dhalgren.