Author Sued By Salinger Submits Defense

An author being sued by J.D. Salinger for copyright infringement is asking a judge to let his book be published.

Attorneys for Fredrik Colting, who writes under the name John David California, submitted a 33-page "defendants' memorandum" 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 In the Rye," and not an unauthorized sequel _ a "rip off," 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 "J.D. 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.