Attorneys for Fredrik Colting, who writes under the name John David California, submitted a 33-page 'defendants' memorandum' on Monday in federal court in Manhattan. The papers say that his novel 60 Years Later is a legally protected commentary and parody of The Catcher and the Rye, and not an unauthorised sequel - a 'rip off', as Salinger has alleged.

Colting's novel tells of a 'Mr. C,' presumed to be Holden Caulfield as an old man, and of an author named 'JD Salinger' who contends with his character's enduring fame.

Salinger, 90, has sued Colting, his publisher and his distributor, asking that the book's release - scheduled this summer - be halted. -- AP