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I'm not much into the realm of fanfic, but this seems like an intriguing way for up & coming writers to get paid (legally) for writing something they love, for brands that can't support a full-on publishing program to live or live again, and for the rights owners to make some money while giving fans what they want. It could also see the emergence of more pro fan fiction (a la Steven Brust's Firefly story).
I especially like the potential for smaller fan segments to get a chance at a bigger pool of attention. Sure, there's loads of quality fanfic out there if you know where to look, but Amazon gives it a whole different level of attention in the general reading public's eye. Would love to see stories for Firefly, Babylon 5, Smallville, Quantum Leap, etc.
Not sure if I agree with Dylan on the idea of a compulsory mechanical license. That seems overstepping of bounds, especially if rights holders have an active publishing program. If you can legally get paid for it, where is the line between fanfic and pro-fic? (Arguments of "quality" aside.) Under a compulsory license scheme, what would prevent Marvel from making money off of publishing a Superman comic?
Still, it should be interesting to see who they get on the rights holder side to go for this, other than the handful of teen series mentioned.
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