THE NEW COPYRIGHT MORIARTY

This story begins when an author undertook the publication of a collection of new tales, which was tentatively titled In the Company of Sherlock Holmes. The Estate of Sir Conan Doyle (“Estate”) purports to own the copyrights in and to Mr. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes body of works and demanded that the author obtain a paid license, leading the author to file a declaratory judgment action. The Estate, however, declined to litigate the issue by filing any responsive pleading. Not being satisfied with a possible default judgment, the author has filed a summary judgment motion, requesting that the court