Sherlock is enjoying quite the afterlife.
Nearly 90 years after Arthur Conan Doyle's final story was published, literature's most famous detective has continued solving crimes through the pages of other novels, as well as TV shows and movies-and more might be on the way.
A U.S. Court of Appeals in June ruled that most of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories no longer are protected by copyright, meaning authors don't need to pay a licensing fee to Doyle's estate to use the character. (Last month, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the decision, ensuring Sherlock remains in the public domain.)
Here's a look at some of the more recent incarnations of the super sleuth.
1990-2004
BOOK SERIES: Irene Adler series
by Carole Nelson Douglas (eight books)
"The Woman" turns detective in her own right, with cameos by Holmes and Watson.
1994-present
BOOK SERIES: Mary Russell series
by Laurie R. King (13 books so far)
A retired Sherlock Holmes is pulled back in the mystery world by his apprentice-turned-wife.
2005
BOOK: "The Italian Secretary"
by Caleb Carr
Holmes and Watson investigate the mystery of Holyrood Palace in Scotland and try to stop an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria.
2009, 2011
MOVIES: "Sherlock Holmes,""Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"
Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law) get the Hollywood blockbuster treatment, sequel included.
2010-present
TV SHOW: BBC's "Sherlock"
Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and BFF John Watson (Martin Freeman) take modern-day London by storm.
2011
BOOK: "The House of Silk"
by Anthony Horowitz
Holmes and Watson uncover a Victorian sex scandal. (This was the first new Sherlock Holmes novel authorized by the Doyle estate.)
2012-present
TV SHOW: CBS'"Elementary"
Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is transplanted to modern-day New York City, and Watson takes a gender-bending turn as Joan (Lucy Liu).
2014
BOOK: "In the Company of Sherlock Holmes"
edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger
A collection of stories by 16 contemporary writers inspired by the Holmes canon. (This was the book that prompted the June court decision placing Sherlock Holmes in the public domain.)
To be released in 2015
MOVIE: "Mr. Holmes"
A 93-year-old Holmes (Ian McKellan) revisits one unsolved mystery, based on the 2005 novel "A Slight Trick of the Mind" by Mitch Cullin.