I think I meant buy. I’ve edited the comment. That said, after rereading the story last tonight, the reason they buy the rights to authors names is to eliminate competition and maximize profits.

Here it is if you’re interested. It’s a great read.

This reminds me of the short story “The Great Automatic Grammatizator” by Roald Dahl. In the story a machine is invented that can write great stories, but it’s creators go around buying the naming rights of authors so people will actually not their books.