Yeah, exactly. They can be SO DUMB sometimes, especially when they get greedy.

While I rather like the idea that people can live off their writing I think it might be better to stick with changing the names and calling it original. This way, the writers have far more rights and the fanfic scene stays the fun experimental scene it is.

Agreed. I have a number of friends who've filed off the serial numbers and made money off of stuff that was previously fic, and I support them completely. I think that's definitely the best way of doing it.