Posted by TJ
on 6/18/2009, 10:39 am, in reply to "Re: Mill Creek now owns D and D dvd rights to cartoon "
Message modified by user TJ 6/18/2009, 10:44 am
I used to work in a library in college, so I've had a passing brush or two with the subject.
I know it feels unfair in the digital age, but as with all things, copyright does serve a purpose: to allow the owner to make a living. Permission makes all things possible, I suppose. 
.
If it makes any difference, I doubt anyone would make copyright claims against your artwork, unless they felt it did them personal or financial damage, was inconsistent with their presentation of the characters, or diluted their ownership rights (If you claimed to own the characters, etc). Just make sure you give credit where credit is due, and I wouldn't think there would be an issue.
Fan writing is a different matter. It's often tolerated, but many authors refuse to allow fan stories to be written using their worlds. Copyright is a tricky thing in U.S law, especially in writing. If an author doesn't protect the originality of their work, after a while, the case can be made that they have abandoned their rights, and they may lose copyright protection. Since authors live off of royalties, that's certainly understandable that they would refuse to allow it, even when they love their fans.
Sorry if this seems like excessive rambling, but I just wanted to comment in case it might help.
Have a great day, Wolfman!