I think Cal's concerns about the rights of an author to his creation
are legitimate, yet they are also somewhat nostalgiac (sprung from the
loins!!??). Images, characters etc. that are part of the media system
today are only the tip of an immense structure of powerful organizations
that create these images to further particular ends. The only way (or at
least one of the most effective ways)
to assert some kind of power over these creations is to subvert them.
The inability to do so through legal means presents a big obstacle
to a true free exchange of ideas.