The Great Game and the Copyright Villain

Transformative Works and Cultures, Vol. 23, 2017

Whittier Law School Research Paper No. 2941958

16 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2017

See all articles by Elizabeth Rosenblatt

Elizabeth Rosenblatt

Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Date Written: March 15, 2017

Abstract

This essay explores the reactions of Sherlock Holmes fans and enthusiasts to assertions of intellectual property ownership and infringement by putative rights holders in two eras of Sherlockian history. In both the 1946–47 and 2013–15 eras, Sherlock Holmes devotees villainized the entities claiming ownership of intellectual property in Holmes, distancing those entities from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and casting them as greedy and morally bankrupt. Throughout each era, Sherlockians did not shy away from creating transformative works based on the Holmes canon over the objections of putative rights holders. This complicates the usual expectation that copyright assertions against fans are likely to chill fan production. The essay explores possible reasons why Sherlockian fandom might differ from other fandoms in this respect, including the role of the Great Game form of Sherlockian fandom in shaping fan attitudes toward their subject.

Keywords: Copyright law, Grand Game, History, Intellectual property law, Law and society, Sherlock Holmes

Suggested Citation

Rosenblatt, Elizabeth, The Great Game and the Copyright Villain (March 15, 2017). Transformative Works and Cultures, Vol. 23, 2017, Whittier Law School Research Paper No. 2941958, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2941958

Elizabeth Rosenblatt (Contact Author)

Case Western Reserve University School of Law ( email )

11075 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106-7148
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
147
Abstract Views
1,062
Rank
381,307
PlumX Metrics