system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:How someone like Marvel can copyright something like Thor and Loki?

These are creations/myths that are centuries old. How can you just lay claim to them?
gpt
They can't. What they can do is copyright their portrayal of them, so if you write a story or draw cartoons about one of them which is so close as to be mistaken by the man in the street for their version, then they'll jump on you.

Of course, they might well try anyway, which is enough to put many people off - which is an abuse of the copyright system, but i suspect it happens all the time.