Judge rules in favor of J.D. Salinger

The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts ruled that Swedish author Fredrick Colting cannot publish his novel 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye in the United States. Colting's book was advertised as a sequel to J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. 60 Years Later was scheduled to be published here later this summer.

From the AP story by Larry Neumeister:

"Batts said Swedish author Fredrik Colting's claim that he wrote the new book to critically examine Salinger's most famous character, Holden Caulfield, was 'problematic and lacking in credibility.' 

She also rejected arguments that a character in Colting's book that was meant to represent Caulfield 60 years later was a parody.

'The court finds that '60 Years' contains no reasonably perceived parodic character as to 'Catcher' and Holden Caulfield,' Batts wrote.

She said in a footnote that Colting and his publishers made no indication before the lawsuit was filed that the book was meant as a parody or critique of Salinger's work.

'Quite to the contrary, the original jacket of '60 Years' states that it is '... a marvelous sequel to one of our most beloved classics,' the judge noted."

Comments

[Andy]

That seems like a very harsh ruling, and it probably violates prior restraint.

This is similar to The Wind Done Gone case, where the circuit court overturned the lower court.

[patrick ogle]

Depends on if the work is still in copyright (or if there are any trademarks involved) and if the estate cooperates with the work. Try writing a sequel to Lord of the Rings...or using Charlie Chaplin's image.. without permission...

[Andy]

Well, if the copyright lapsed or the estate cooperates, there is obviously no legal issue.

You could use copyrighted material or trademarks if it constitutes a fair use. And that's what the judge in this case is getting at--that the new book is not fair use. What I don't understand is how she gets around prior restraint. Maybe it has something to do with the book being published in another country, but I'm not sure that's it.

Generally, you can't stop a work from being a published--even one which breaks copyright law. You can only sue for damages after it is published. I don't see why this is any different.

[Amy]

I say Holden belongs to Salinger, so amen.