Incidentally, Tom Richmond's weblog (which I just mentioned) is currently addressing a topic currently being discussed on many a blog. There's a video making the rounds that does a nice, albeit unauthorized job of animating Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes property. A lot of folks seem to think this is Fair Use. After all, the person who did it isn't making any money off it and since Watterson has declined to animate his characters, it's not infringing on his business plans.
I disagree strongly. I think it's theft, copyright infringement, disrespectful to Watterson and just plain wrong. That someone isn't making any money off some transgression is irrelevant. If I print up and start giving away free copies of your copyrighted novel, the fact that I'm not profiting does not lessen the damage to you and your work. And besides, I may be profiting in non-monetary ways, just as the guy who animated that Calvin & Hobbes bootleg is using Watterson's artistry and rep to make himself look good and to get attention. The fact that Watterson isn't (currently) interested in animating his characters is also irrelevant. Not animating them — and controlling their every appearance — is part of his business plan. It may not be how you or I think the property should be managed but our opinion doesn't count. We don't own it. He does.