A lawsuit filed against The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown has been thrown out of a London court yesterday, after a judge ruled the writer did not steal plot ideas from other texts. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh - two of the three authors of The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail - alleged Brown had reproduced themes from their 1982 novel and filed a subsequent lawsuit against Random House, the publisher of both books. Their original suit was dismissed in April 2006, when the London's High Court ruled Brown had not plagiarized themes from the authors' work, but after the ruling in the Court of Appeal, Baigent and Leigh now face legal bills of $5.85 million. In a statement released after the appeal's rejection, they said, "We believed, and still do, that non-fiction authors would suffer and be discouraged from extensive research if it was found that any author could take another's ideas, 'morph' and repackage them, then sell them on." Gail Rebuck, head of Random House, hailed the ruling as a victory for "creative writing." She says, "Misguided claims like the one that we have faced, and the appeal, are not good for authors, and not good for publishers. But we are glad that the Court of Appeal has upheld the original judgment and that, once again, common sense and justice have prevailed, helping to ensure the future of creative writing in the UK." Published in 2003, The Da Vinci Code has now sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.
- 3/29/2007
- WENN
Author Dan Brown has been accused of plagiarism in The Da Vinci Code just days after he was cleared in London's High Court of similar allegations. Russian art historian Dr. Mikhail Anikin, a Leonardo Da Vinci expert, wants Brown to apologize and hand over half the money made from his book within the next month. If his demand is not met, Anikin claims he'll sue Brown in both Russia and the US for all his Da Vinci Code earnings. Anikin says his 2000 book Leonardo Da Vinci: Theology In Paint argues that the Mona Lisa was an allegory for the Christian church. In 1998, Anikin alleges he discussed his ideas about the painting with some experts from Houston, Texas, one of whom asked if he could pass on the theory to Brown. The Russian says he agreed so long as he was credited in any book, but never heard back. He also claims to have called his theory The Da Vinci Code. Anikin says, "When I read the book, I was shocked at its poor quality and because it used my ideas. This book tells lies about the church which upset me morally." Last Friday, Brown was found not to have breached copyright and plagiarized The Da Vinci Code from the 1982 book The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. Director Ron Howard's movie adaptation of the best-seller, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou, is due out next month.
- 4/12/2006
- WENN
LONDON -- Media observers, fans and commentators were left with a cliff-hanger following the final chapter of court proceedings here in the High Court on Monday, which sees Random House, the British publisher of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code being sued by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, the writers of "The Holy Blood, and the Holy Grail," for copyright infringement. After more than three weeks of heavy court activity, the claimants spent the last day renewing accusations that Brown stole their ideas in his bestseller while lawyers for the blockbuster author countered. But it emerged that any judgment from Justice Peter Smith could take several weeks to be reached on the gathered evidence. The allegation stands that Brown stole the whole "architecture" of the duo's book, published years before the best selling The Da Vinci Code rocketed off the shelves.
- 3/20/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- Author Dan Brown was back in the High Court on Tuesday after a break in the copyright-infringement proceedings at which Random House, the British publisher of Brown's The Da Vinci Code, is being sued by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail. The pair allege that Brown stole the "architecture" of their book, published years before the best-selling Da Vinci Code flew off the shelves. According to reports, Brown watched Tuesday as Random House lawyer John Baldwin sought to undermine Baigent's argument that Brown had stolen the "central theme" of his 1982 book. Baldwin pointed out differences between an outline of Holy Blood, which Baigent and Leigh wrote in 1978, and what the historians now say is the central theme of their book, reports said.
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