UK Court Rules That The Da Vinci Code Not a Copy

The English High Court, in its Chancery Division, has rejected a copyright infringement suit brought by plaintiffs Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of the 1982 non-fiction book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, against the British publishers of Dan Brown's bestseller The Da Vinci Code. In the well-known formulation of copyright principle, copyright exists not in an idea but rather in the expression of the idea. The plaintiffs had not accused Brown of copying text from their book. Instead, they alleged that Brown had "appropriated the architecture" or structure of their work. Both books consider the idea of the survival of the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. In his decision, released on April 7, 2006, Justice Peter Smith held that, "It would be quite wrong if fictional writers were to have their writings pored over in the way The Da Vinci Code has been pored over in this case by authors of pretend historical books to make an allegation of infringement of copyright." He went on to write, "I accept that if that was allowed to happen it would have a serious impact on writing." For the full text of the decision (Baigent and Leigh v The Random House Group Limited, [2006] EWHC 719 (Ch)), see: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2006/719.html For related news stories, visit: http://makeashorterlink.com/?E2D0213FC; and http://makeashorterlink.com/?D211323FC Summary by: Clare McCurley