So the ACD Estate are suing to get the new Mr. Holmes movie stopped, as well as get money from the filmmakers and book author Mitch Cullin. The article also mentions the copyright trial they lost last year to Leslie Klinger, so this looks more than a little desperate.
The last 10 Sherlock Holmes stories are still in copyright, so this lawsuit is based on specific elements from those stories. However, I disagree with their claim that Holmes becoming warmer, gentler, and kinder is something that happened only in the last 10 stories. I remember him being warm and sentimental in some early stories, as well as stories right after he came back from his fake death. I also disagree with their claim that Holmes "got over his distaste for dogs" only in "The Creeping Man." Holmes had no distaste for dogs in The Sign of Four when he used a dog to track the creosote trail. But that's the thing about ACD, he didn't write with consistency and planned character development; he didn't care about Holmes that much.
Anyway, considering that Mitch Cullin's book came out in 2005, and the Estate is only suing now that it's been turned into a movie starring Ian McKellan, this feels like pure greed. (I read the book years ago, but hated it, so I won't be seeing the movie either way.) I hope that the Estate loses again, especially with their claim of trademark infringement which they hope to apply forever.
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