Leslie Klinger has filed a petition asking the Court to require that Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., pay the legal fees and costs incurred to date by Klinger in the case, amounting to about $70,000 to date. Click here for a PDF of the petition.

In response, the Estate filed a motion on July 3, 2014 (text is here), asking the Court to “stay” (delay) its “mandate” (the finality of its order), so that the Estate does not have to respond to the fee petition at this time (the response is otherwise due by July 14, 2014). The Estate avers that delay should be granted because it is filing a petition for certiorari, asking the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the 7^th Circuit’s decision, on the twin grounds that (a) there is a conflict among the Circuit courts on whether this case is “justiciable” (that is, whether it presents an actual “case or controversy” or is simply theoretical) and the 7^th Circuit applied the law incorrectly in finding that the case was justiciable, and (b) the 7^th Circuit interpreted the copyright laws incorrectly.

The Estate points out that if the effectiveness of the 7^th Circuit’s order is not delayed, it stands to lose significant licensing fees because Sherlock Holmes is so popular at present.