Author files Sherlock Holmes suit

International copywrite law protects the author's estate till 70 years after his death, U.S. law is pre-empted here. If 10% of the cannon is still protected under U.S. law, then licensing (and some editing of licensed material) is appropriate. I'd argue infavor of editorial imput for the estate because drekk published under the Holmes title reduces the value of the cannon.

"... because drekk published under the Holmes title reduces the value of the cannon."

no it doesn't.
the 60 (+/-) adventures of the canon are timeless and permanent and can in no way be tainted by the so-called drek. if that were true then the original Doyle stories would've been tainted long before you or i ever got to it. inferior published attempts have been around since Doyle's time.

It's interesting to consider the different fates between Sherlock Holmes, a character that is practically iconic partly because so many people can't resist trying to write him, and a character like Lord Peter Wimsey, whose literary existence has been aggressively defended by the Sayers estate and executors.