Or, better still, what if someone decides to re-tell Gone With the Wind from the slaves' point of view, call it "Wind Done Gone," and have their right to do that affirmed in a court of law?

Or what if Robert A Heinlein decides to write a bunch of books with L Frank Baum characters in them?

Or what if Geoff Ryman wants to write "Was," and win the World Fantasy Award for a novel that uses Oz characters and L. Frank Baum?