How Do I Know What I Think Until I See What I Say?

So I'm sure many of the three of you who read this have heard about the case that J.D. Salinger has brought against a Swedish author who has written an unauthorized sequel to Catcher in the Rye . As of this writing, the publication of the book has been enjoined, but the case is on appeal and the decision to stop the publication may be reversed because, simply, the new work is a fair use of the ideas contained in Catcher in the Rye . I'm of two minds about this. As a lawyer, I think the district court was wrong.* The "sequel" to Catcher , if it is as it's been described, is a transformative work that plays on the ideas of the original by aging the character of Holden Caulfield. This type of adaptation and enhancement are what the copyright laws are meant to protect. The law doesn't protect ideas, or themes, or even characters--they only protect the work, as written down. From a legal perspective, Salinger doesn't really have a leg to stand on.** As a w