Some companies at least have paid for the rights recently though, which still argues against your stance.
Then there's the seven percent solution which came out shortly before Sherlock Holmes went public domain.
Then there's the seven percent solution which came out shortly before Sherlock Holmes went public domain.
He was already mostly public domain, with only a few stories still copyrighted. (And his estate claims that some character traits like "having emotions" are part of those stories.)