Are the Characters Well-Developed Enough to be Protected by Copyright? Or do you have a merger issue? The AP reports that "Dick and Jane Publisher Reportedly Sues." From the article: "Pearson Education, the publishing company that owns the copyright to the single-named stars of countless reading primers, is suing a division of Time Warner for co-opting the characters in a book called 'Yiddish With Dick and Jane,' according to The New York Times.... The parody book takes Dick and Jane into adulthood, where they're faced with problems like adultery, ailing parents and sexual orientation."