On Monday, reclusive author J.D. Salinger emerged to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against the author and publisher of a forthcoming book that purports to be a sequel to Salinger's 1951 novel, "The Catcher in the Rye." The new book, "60 Years Later: Coming Out of the Rye," is authored by the pseudonymous J.D. California.
Salinger's lawsuit claims copyright in the "Holden Caufield character," the protagonist in both books, as well as the "exclusive right to create works derivative" to "Catcher." Of course, Salinger has no interest in creating such works. He just wants to prevent others from ever doing so:
For over fifty years, as has been extensively reported in the media, J.D. Salinger has been fiercely protective of both his intellectual property and his privacy. He has not published any work since 1965 and, other than a 1949 short film of one of his early short stories, Salinger has never permitted any adaptations of any of his works. He has publicly disavowed any intention of doing so during his lifetime.
