You're missing the phrase "in some form". Copyright does not cover only text. Copyright covers the story itself, and in some cases has been ruled to cover even the characters. And as was said earlier, you can't copyright non-fictional characters. Another way to look at it, copyright law only covers *preparation* of derivative works, not copying or distribution of derivative works. It doesn't have to cover the latter, because when you copy a derivative work you necessarily also copy the original work on which it is derived. http://chillingeffects.org/fanfic/faq.cgi ("the infringing work must incorporate some portion of the original work", "For example, a detailed commentary on a work or a musical composition inspired by a book would not usually constitute infringements of this right.") http://digital-law-online.info/lpdi1.0/treatise6.html "There is no hard-and-fast rule determining when something is a substantially similar copy, and when it is a derivative work, since both will incorporate the original work in some way and also have changed material." http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/DVD/cases/Micro_Star_v_Formgen.html "Nintendo sued, claiming that when the Game Genie modified the game system's audiovisual display, it created an infringing derivative work. We rejected this claim because 'derivative work must incorporate a protected work in some concrete or permanent form.'" Yes, the key for Nintendo was that the display was not in concrete or permanent form, but that doesn't change the fact that the derivative work must incorporate a protected work in some form the first place. _________________________________________________________________ Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/