Catcher in the Rye Sequel has Friends

Four of the countries largest news organizations have filed an Amicus Brief in support of publication of the "Catcher in the Rye sequel". The NYTco, AP, Gannett and Tribune filed the brief earlier this week and it follows one also filed by the ARL, ACRL, Organization for Transformative works and The Write Fund. American Law Daily (Law.com) has all the details:

"Amici publish copyrighted material every day, and depend on the copyright law to protect their writings," the brief states. "Indeed, their need for copyright protection is today more intense than ever as digital technologies make it ever easier for third parties to seize and repurpose the fruits of their costly newsgathering efforts."

All that notwithstanding, the lawyers argued that they "fiercely believe that the availability of a preliminary injunction under the copyright law cannot trump the prerogatives of the First Amendment, and that a book banning of at least arguably transformative work cannot be countenanced."

In their brief, the news organizations argued that Rosenthal's fair use claim has merit.

"While the district court determined that the fair use defense was not decisive, it certainly is the case that the literal reincarnation of Holden as a senior and his interaction with Mr. Salinger, who is trying to kill him, forms tranformative commentary on the book which--as opposed to sheer piracy--brings it into the realm of fair use."

No publication date has been set yet but stay tuned.