COPYCENSE

“A High Court judge ruled on Friday that Dan Brown did not steal the idea for his stratospherically successful thriller, “The Da Vinci Code,” from an earlier book, and he cleared Mr. Brown’s publisher, Random House, of accusations of copyright infringement.

“In issuing his opinion, Justice Peter Smith said Mr. Brown had indeed relied on the earlier work, “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail,” in writing a section of “The Da Vinci Code.” But he said two of the authors of “Holy Blood,” Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, had failed in their effort to prove that Mr. Brown had stolen their “central theme” because they could not accurately state what that theme was.”

Sarah Lyall. Idea for ‘Da Vinci Code’ Was Not Stolen, Judge Says. The New York Times. April 8, 2006.

See also:

Nigel Reynolds. Brown Wins Battle Over Da Vinci Code. News.telegraph. April 8, 2006.

FT.com. Da Vinci Code Wins High Court Case. April 7 2006.

Guardian Unlimited. Brown Wins Da Vinci Code Case. April 7, 2006.

The Independent. Claim Against Da Vinci Code Rejected. April 7, 2006.

Updates:

Sarah Lyall. Puzzle Embedded in ‘Da Vinci Code’ Ruling. The New York Times. April 27, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the law, business, and technology of digital content. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.