I may not have stated my thoughts as clearly as I intended. The "claim" made by CMG is not a "claim." It is a legal right which has been transferred to them by the holders of the original rights. This, at least, is my understanding. Trademark law is, I assume, the legitimate basis for their right. Although I'm not an intellectual property or trademark attorney by any means, it seems clear to me that a trademark is an entity unto itself: assignable, transferable, and different, in many respects, from a copyright. Let's assume this scenario, for the sake of argument: Mark Twain trademarks his name and persona while still alive. The application for trademark is accepted. He then "owns" all the rights thereunto appertaining, as they say. Upon his death, those rights are part of his estate, controlled and administered under the terms of his will by the Mark Twain Foundation, directed by the law firm of Chamberlain, Willi, and Ouchterloney, his attorneys. By way of Clara's estate, or the continuing legal authority of the Mark Twain Foundation to exercise control over his name and persona, those "rights" have devolved over time to CMG. It seems that there is a valid distinction between copyright and trademark. One may quote all day long until blue in the face from Twain, publish your own edition of Tom Sawyer, and never be beholden to pay a dime. But,... If you wanted to endorse a particular brand of scotch whiskey, or a particular fountain pen, or a particular brand of cigar, and do so as "Mark Twain," using his likeness and persona, then some arrangement with the interests that own and control those rights must be made. Otherwise, one would be in violation of trademark law and subject to action by the owners of the rights. Again, I'm not an attorney. If someone painted a picture of Mark Twain and used it in a commercial endeavor, who knows? That may not violate trademark. If, in a satirical piece, the Twain character was used, vilified, sanctified, deified, or otherwise maligned, that may also be just fine. But I do believe that fairly solid ground underlies the provenance of the rights that CMG owns, or represents, on behalf of the Mark Twain Foundation. Also, I recommend for further study this link from UC Berkeley's web page: _http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/MTP/access.html_ (http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/MTP/access.html) More specifically, this section, as regards printed material: (bold, underline, and italics are mine) "All valid copyrights on Mark Twain's words are held by Richard A. Watson and JPMorgan Chase Bank as Trustees of the Mark Twain Foundation, which reserves all reproduction or dramatization rights in every medium. To write to the Mark Twain Foundation, address your request to: Richard A. Watson Chamberlain, Willi, Ouchterloney, & Watson 575 Eighth Avenue, 16th Floor New York, NY 10018 I hope this either helps to clarify my original post, or leads to further discussion that can ascertain the true facts, if what I submit as my understanding of them is wrong. Roger Durrett Charlotte, NC