Universal Studios' Dracula and Frankenstein's Entry into the Public Domain

2027 should be a big year for fans of Universal Classic Horror Films, as both Dracula and Frankenstein, both being released in 1931, should enter the public domain on January 1 of that year. But maybe Dracula's entry into to public domain may not be as soon as you might think.

Sherlock Holmes and Copyright Term Expiration

Two attempts to murder Sherlock Holmes, the left much more freely usable historically than the right

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle wrote and published Sherlock Holmes stories from 1887 to 1927, a span of forty years. That broad period has some unusual implications for the copyright of the stories and the character of Sherlock Holmes. This blog article intends to answer the question how did Sherlock Holmes enter the public domain and at what times did he do so?

The Portable Document Saving Companion - The Epson WorkForce ES-300W

Many institutions, government offices, courthouses, hospitals, still store their records as paper documents.  Making copies of those papers can get expensive, the copies may not be immediately available and the the available copier may not be very good. Paper copies require more paper, which means harvesting semi-renewable resources. Scanning documents can be fast, cheap and easier to handle compared to reams of paper. Scanners used to be anything but portable, but technology has improved to the extent that you can buy a portable scanner and expect it to make reasonable scans.  Almost three years ago I bought a portable scanner, the Epson ES-300W, so in today's blog article I will share my experiences with the scanner, identify its strengths and weaknesses and provide a review for it.