If you could award to an Intellectual Property for the amount of times it has been repackaged and redistributed, this hypothetical award would undoubtedly be sent to 221B Baker Street, as there is definitely never any shortage of Sherlock Holmes in popular culture! Since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created stories of his fictional detective over a century ago, there have been countless adaptations, including novels, board games, comic books, plays, video games, films, radio and television shows. In fact, there is even a book called The Universal Sherlock Holmes (1995) by Ronald B. Dewaal that lists over 25,000 Sherlock related productions and products, a list that continues to expand to this day!
So why is this relevant now do you ask? Well, this week, there has been a sudden buzz within the film industry due to the release of the first production photograph of yet another Sherlock Holmes adaptation, starring none other than the great Sir Ian McKellan. Mr. Holmes, directed by Fifth Estate's (2013) Bill Conden, is reportedly due for release in cinemas later this year, starring the 75 year old actor as an elderly Sherlock Holmes living in retirement. The plot is based around "a cold case from 50 years ago [that] haunts Holmes, and he sets out to solve it once and for all, although his own failing mental faculties and the absence of his dear friend Watson make it difficult." (Chen, 2015). What's more, this new film is in fact an adaptation of an adaptation, offering unique perspective from A Slight Trick of the Mind (2005), a book written by Mitch Cullin based upon the stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
So, these IP rights have basically been passed down to Mitch Cullin, who appears to be part of a dedicated and active audience of Sherlock Holmes, making him a Sherlock fan. As Jenkins points out, "fans are consumers who produce, readers who also write and spectators who also participate" (as cited in Lewis, 1992; p.208), which somewhat demonstrates the power a fan can have over an Intellectual Property (a topic worth further investigation further in my blog). Nonetheless, Cullin's Mr. Holmes appears to be perceived as a great addition to the long list of adaptations, as its a different perspective, granting new narrative possibilities to the character that has "never been truly hampered by anything out of his own control in quite the way that the natural process of ageing will inflict." (Baxter, 2015).
The film may be filled with mystery and deduction, but ultimately its a delicate portrayal of what happens when you age.
In similar news, the critically acclaimed BBC TV adaptation, Sherlock (2010) starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the detective, began filming for the new season a few weeks ago in Bristol, causing fans around the world to rejoice. The series has definitely proved to be an great IP economic success, selling to over 220 countries worldwide and helping the BBC generate sales of £1.4bn in the year to the 31 March. It has also managed to scoop award after award, including BAFTAS, Emmys, Golden Globes and even a Peabody award. What's more, the first two series holds a 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.3/10 user rating on Imdb, which demonstrates that this adaptation is universally accepted as a brilliant masterpiece by writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.
Also, let's not forget Rober Downey Jr., as Holmes’s latest appearance in the Warner Bros Adaptation, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) has sold more than $545 million i
tickets worldwide, making it the 12th highest grossing film of 2011!
But all this information made me wonder... who actually owns Sherlock Holmes, the world’s most repackaged IP? Is it public domain? Or is it the filmmakers, book authors, or even the BBC?
Who gets all this money from an IP??? This answer could ultimately determine who acquires the success, which is crucial to the development of my blog. Alone, for a 128-year-old detective, Sherlock Holmes would be a surprisingly reliable earner, but order to find out who really owns the detective, I decided to look deeper into the politics of Intellectual Property Law in Part 2
References and links to images are in PART 2.
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