Decision to Bar Publication of Catcher in the Rye Sequel Questioned

by Janette Spencer-Davis, Legal Editor, CCH Copyright Law Reports   

In a hearing on September 4, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit wondered whether the trial judge in Salinger v. Colting, 2008 Copyright Law Decisions ¶29,772, should have considered more evidence before issuing an order barring publication and sale of a book billed as a sequel to the classic novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The federal district court in Manhattan ruled that Fredrik Colting's 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye infringed J.D. Salinger's copyright in The Catcher in the Rye as well as the book's main character. The three-judge appellate panel questioned whether the district court judge had adequately explored whether Colting's book was a fair use.

Attorneys for Colting argued that, despite its initial billing, 60 Years Later was not a sequel, but rather a "highly transformative work of literary criticism." Salinger's lawyer continued to argue that the book was not transformative. The appellate judges reserved decision and gave no clear indication of which way they were leaning.


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