I think this discussion needs to take account of whether an item is legally available from the originitaor of an artical at a reasonable price. eg. I have been considering whether or not to model the entire bridge from the the new star treck film and release it as a freebie. The makers of the film have not made and released such a 3D model so would that be unethical or illegal?

I believe that some ideas, such as Star Treck - the original series, have become part of the world culture and should be beyond the creators ability to impose copyright. The bible can't be copyrighted, can it?

I think that in the European Union it is now unlawful to exploit the image of another person - not sure though