July 1, 2009 | In: Books & Authors, News
Salinger wins case against crumby Colting
That was mean. I’m sure Colting is an all right guy.
Anyway, turns out Sixty Years Later won’t be appearing in U.S. bookstores any time soon, as Judge Deborah Batts has ruled in the favor of J.D. Salinger and blocked its publication within the United States.
As for claims that the book was an examination of the classic work and therefore perfectly legit (its subtitle is in fact “An Unauthorized Fictional Examination of the Relationship Between J.D. Salinger and His Most Famous Character“), this is what Batts had to say:
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. – Judge blocks publication of Salinger spinoff book, Associated Press
Well, that settles that.
2 Responses to Salinger wins case against crumby Colting
Andrei Mincov
July 1st, 2009 at 10:52 PM
Recently I wrote a 100-page comparative research paper on the treatment of parody in the copyright laws of common law countries and selected European countries. Thus, I could not help but voice my thoughts regarding the ongoing dispute between J.D. Salinger and the author and publishers of a purported sequel to The Catcher in the Rye.
I have posted my new article “Why Courts Should Not Allow the Parody Exception to Make a Parody of the Copyright Law” at http://mincov.com/articles/index.php/fullarticle/Salinger_Parody/
I hope you don’t mind me using your blog to advertise it. I would appreciate any comments you may have with regard to my article.
Rob
July 1st, 2009 at 11:27 PM
@ Andrei Mincov
That was a great article, and a fantastic analysis of the issue of parody exception and copyright. It definitely gave me a better understanding of the entire situation.