And the gate swings open for Sherlock Holmes.

Well, there was this on Twitter tonight . . . .

If things weren't wild and wooly enough with season three of Sherlock so close upon us, Les Klinger has declared victory in that key court case challenging the "Conan Doyle Estate Ltd." and its claim to owning Sherlock Holmes, body and soul. We're still awaiting details from free-sherlock.com, of course, and there'll be much sorting out of exactly what it all means and for whom, but it still is one fine day . . . except for that it's night . . . but still, something to babble on a bit about.

We're still eight years out from the final ten Casebook stories by Conan Doyle being in the public domain here in America, but Sherlock Holmes himself, that fellow whose best years were behind him when those ten finally appeared, gets to spend those last eight years with a bit more room to flex his legend. Of course, lawyers being lawyers and investors always wanting to protect an investment, there's probably going to be some more maneuvering and dodging and the like.  But for now . . . for now . . . .

Sherlock Holmes takes one more step away from eventually getting a bloody "TM" tacked on him for all eternity by some corporate entity.

And one more step toward being owned by the world, as a part of our common legacy.