Film Screening

The Institute for Information Law & Policy at New York Law School is proud to present the premier of Caught in the Rye, a student-produced film about the Salinger v. Colting case currently before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

J.D. Salinger is one of the most well-known American authors in history.  His novel, Catcher in the Rye, captured the angst of youth through his main character Holden Caufield.  Reclusive and litigious in nature, Salinger is very protective of his work.

Frederick Colting, author of The Macho Man's Drinkbook; Because Nude Girls and Alcohol Go Great Together, used the pen name "J.D. California" to write 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye.  Billed as a sequel, Colting's novel led Salinger's legal team to file a claim against Colting to stop the book from being published in the United States.

The resulting trial has brought to the forefront the legal issues associated with the doctrines of fair use, derivative works, and character copyright.  In Caught in the Rye, IP In Focus explores the backgrounds of the two parties, the legal issues at play, and the various perspectives on what the outcome should be.  The filmmakers ask why does Salinger feel threatened by Colting's work?  Why did Colting write the book in the first place?  And what effect will the Second Circuit's decision have on the state of copyright law?

The film screening will be immediately followed by a Q&A session with two of the filmmakers, Seena Ghaznavi and Tom Lemmo.  They will also be joined on this panel by Nina Paley (award winning filmmaker, Sita Sings the Blues; recipient of Public Knowledge's 2010 IP3 Award) and Dr. Eric Faden (Associate Professor, Bucknell University, producer of A Fair(y) Use Tale).

The panel will be moderated by Professor Dan Hunter (Director, Institute for Information Law & Policy, New York Law School).

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