"IF this is the case, then isn't SOMEONE out there the original "imaginator" of a vampire and its distinctive fangs?" Probably. But that's over simplifying things. Read the link above. This isn't something that's very easy to siplify, and, point blank, it means you do have to understand the basics of copyright and trademark law. Which artists should have, anyway, as they are the most important laws in relation to what they do. Which applies to the rest, as well. Copyright: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/ Trademark: http://www.uspto.gov/

thou and I, my friend, can, in the most flunkey world, make, each of us, one non-flunkey, one hero, if we like: that will be two heroes to begin with. (Carlyle)