Wow, what an unexpectedly inane and ignorant comment on HN. That is like saying: "I just drove by a cop at 3mph over the speed limit and he didn't even turn on

Wow, what an unexpectedly inane and ignorant comment on HN. That is like saying: "I just drove by a cop at 3mph over the speed limit and he didn't even turn on his lights. No fine paid." (implying that therefore speed limit laws don't exist) The fact that many trivial violations go un-prosecuted never invalidates the law. Here's a key line just a few paragraphs into a Georgetown Law paper on the topic [1] >>Many entertainment corporation shave left fan fiction alone, but a few have attempted and are attempting to stamp out unauthorized use of their proprietary characters. It is very common. Your trivial "example" may come under fair use, but that says nothing about the actual facts of the matter. [1] https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2936&context=facpub https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?a...