Dopo oltre 125 anni dalla sua prima apparizione, il personaggio di Sherlock Holmes è divenuto negli USA di “proprietà pubblica”. Coloro che intendono renderlo protagonista di nuovi racconti lo posso fare senza versare i diritti d’autore agli eredi del suo creatore, lo scrittore britannico Arthur Conan Doyle.
Lo ha stabilito un giudice federale dell'Illinois, secondo il quale Holmes, il suo amico Watson, il numero 221b di Baker Street, l'ignobile professore Moriarty e altri elementi caratteristici di una cinquantina di lavori pubblicati prima del primo gennaio 1923 non sono più coperti negli Stati Uniti dai diritti d'autore.
La decisione fa seguito ad una causa civile avviata da un editore, Leslie Klinger, che intende pubblicare una serie di volumi sul grande detective scritti da diversi autori.
ATS/Red.MM
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