The da Vinci Code in court
One to watch from BBC Online:
Da Vinci Code ‘copied book ideas’
A claim that Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code copied the ideas of two other authors has gone before London’s High Court.
Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh say Mr Brown stole “the whole architecture” of research that went into their 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
Both books contain the idea Jesus had a child. They are suing publisher Random House, which denies the allegation.
Mr Brown attended the court on Monday as a judge heard initial submissions. Read on here…
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Those playing close attention will realise that the surnames of these two individuals, one anagramised and one not, make up the name of one of the leading characters. Quite what relevance that has to the case I don’t know beyond the fact that it will be very hard for Brown to pretend he has never heard of them. I guess it’s all down to how OK it is to use real-world ideas in fiction - something I believe the copyright laws are singularly ill-equipped to mediate on. The mischevious observer might say that at least they were credited…
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