Wednesday 26 May 2010

Appeal in Salinger copyright case


An appeal against the banning of a book promoted as a sequel to JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye has been given the go-ahead.

In July, a judge in Manhattan's federal court blocked the US publication of 60 Years Later: Coming Through The Rye by Swedish novelist Fredrik Colting.

On Friday, an appeals court sent the case back to the federal court.

But in its ruling, the appeals court made it clear it expected Salinger's trust to prevail.

"Most of the matters relevant to Salinger's likelihood of success on the merits are either undisputed or readily established in his favour," the court ruled.

Salinger died in January at the age of 91.

When banning publication in July last year, Judge Deborah Batts concluded that Colting's novel too closely mirrored Mr Salinger's 1951 classic.

In her 37-page ruling, issued in Manhattan, she said the main character in Colting's novel - Mr C - was "an infringement" on Mr Salinger's main character, Holden Caulfield.

Colting claims his book, featuring a character based on Salinger's hero, is a literary commentary not a sequel.

The book came out in the UK in June last year.

The Catcher In The Rye, first published in 1951, is a tale of adolescent alienation which became one of the most influential American novels of the modern era.

The novel sees Caulfield wandering around New York and railing against the establishment, following his expulsion from boarding school.

Colting's novel sees 76-year-old Mr C - who the author has admitted is based on Caulfield - escape from a retirement home and head to New York.

Both books end near a carousel in Central Park.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8656820.stm

No comments:

Post a Comment