Legal experts are eagerly awaiting the outcome of a British lawsuit
accusing the publisher of "The Da Vinci Code" by American author Dan Brown of
copyright violations.
A trial underway in London's ornate Royal Courts of Justice could have a
wide-ranging impact on how authors gather and compile their research without
being accused of copyright infringement.
The British branch of the publisher Random House is being sued by two
authors, who claim The Da Vinci Code novelist Dan Brown stole his ideas from
their 1982 non-fiction book entitled Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
The reclusive Brown has testified that the claim by British authors Michael
Baigent and Richard Leigh is "completely fanciful."
Both books deal with a theory that Jesus Christ survived his crucifixion,
took Mary Magdalene as his wife, and that their descendants survive to this day.
Theologians consider the books' theses false and heretical.
Brown's The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 40 million copies in the past
three years, and a film based on the book - starring Tom Hanks - is due for
release on May 19th.
Copyright lawyers are watching the London case with fascination.
Among them is Robin Fry, of the London law firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs. He
has told a group of London-based foreign correspondents that a victory for
Baigent and Leigh could adversely affect writers and academics around the world.
"I think it will put the brakes on a lot of research," Fry said. "I think a
lot of people will be confused about how they can use other works, because the
fact is we all stand on the shoulders of others. It is very rare that one can
say that any work you have done is completely original."
But Fry believes there is so much money involved that neither side will want
to destroy what he calls "the Da Vinci Code marketplace" if the verdict goes in
favor of Baigent and Leigh.
"Inevitably, there will be hasty negotiations, there will be credits agreed
for the authors [Baigent and Leigh] and there will be agreement regarding
payment of royalties to those authors, so it will be a painful, difficult
process but one cannot conceive that the whole Da Vinci Code industry will be
stopped in its tracks simply by reason of this court case," he said.
Fry also expects The Da Vinci Code film will be released on schedule, even if
Baigent and Leigh win. He says Baigent and Leigh would not risk a countersuit by
the filmmakers for lost profits, in the event a verdict in the authors' favor is
overturned on appeal.
Random House also stands to win financially no matter how the case turns out,
because it is the publisher of both The Da Vinci Code and Holy Blood and Holy
Grail. The publisher says sales of both books have been spurred on by publicity
about the lawsuit.
