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Adding to the answer by @laurenipsum: Her answer applies also to an original that is out of copyright. For example, anybody can make any story they want using the original characters and setting f...
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#3: Attribution notice added
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/17474 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
Adding to the answer by @laurenipsum: Her answer applies also to an original that is out of copyright. For example, anybody can make any story they want using the original characters and setting from Les Miserables, since that is out of copyright. The writers of Les Miz can't sue you for that (well, not successfully). But, if you use characters original to Les Miz, that's a different story. _(See what I did there?)_ The new characters in Les Miz belong to the writers of Les Miz, even though Les Miz is a total knock-off of Victor Hugo's book.