DaVinci Code Author Dan Brown Wins Court Case

Final Chapter In Vinci Case
Updated: 15:28, Friday April 07, 2006

Multimillion-selling author Dan Brown has won his court case against two authors who claim he copied their ideas.

The High Court threw out a breach of copyright claim by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh over The Da Vinci Code.

That has left them with a bill of £350,000 in costs.

They have been refused leave to appeal.

Random House, publishers of both The Da Vinci Code and Baigent and Leigh's earlier book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, was in the dock.

After the hearing, Brown said the case had been "utterly without merit".

"I'm still astonished these two authors chose to file this suit at all," he said.

The Holy Blood, published in 1982, was based on a theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married, had a child and the bloodline continues to this day.

Baigent and Leigh say a secret society is protecting their heirs against wicked conspiracies enacted by the Church - a similar theme to the one explored in Brown's mega-seller.

But Mr Justice Peter Smith ruled that Mr Brown did not copy the central theme for his novel from the earlier book.

The Da Vinci Code won best book at last year's British Book Awards and has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, earning the author £45m in one year.

It sold half a million copies in its first week of paperback release in the US, boosted by the trial, say industry watchers.

If the trial had gone the other way, the long-awaited film of the book may have been put on hold.

Its May release now goes ahead.

[link to www.sky.com]