The Netflix movie Enola Holmes was one of the streaming service’s biggest releases this year, but it was also the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit, brought by the estate of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. The suit has now been settled.
The character of Sherlock Holmes has been in the public domain since 2014. However, not every story featuring Holmes is–the last 10 books published between 1923 and 1927 remain under control of the Conan Doyle Estate. The Doyle estate had argued that the Sherlock of Enola Holmes is the more “emotional” version featured in these later books.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix and the estate have reached a settlement, leading New Mexico federal court to dismiss the case. It’s unknown what the settlement involved, but it’s very likely that it will enable Netflix to make more Enola Holmes movies, based on Nancy Springer’s series of novels.
This wasn’t the first time the Doyle estate had attempted to retain some control over depictions of the character. In 2014, it sued Miramax over the movie Mr. Holmes. This suit was also settled.
Enola Holmes hit Netflix in September. It starred Stranger Things’ Millie Bobbie Brown as Enola, the younger sister of the famous detective, who was played by Henry Cavill. The movie was originally produced by Legendary Films and Warner but was sold to Netflix earlier this year.
