Brown stole idea for Da Vinci Code, claim authors

[Semper_Fi_1]

Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, is to face a High Court action brought by the authors of the 1982 non-fiction book The Holy Blood, and the Holy Grail, who allege that his blockbuster was based on their decade of research.

Speaking ahead of a preliminary hearing of the case next week, Richard Leigh, 62, one of the writers, said: “I don’t begrudge Brown his success. I have no particular grievance against him, except for the fact that he wrote a pretty bad novel (my emphasis and my sentiments exactly).”

Mr Leigh, an American who has lived in England since 1974, and Michael Baigent, 57, a New Zealander, his co-author, are suing Random House, Brown’s publishers, for infringement of their ideas.

telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/21/wvinci21.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/10/21/ixnewstop.html

 

[JLove]

I don’t know much about suing (except that you can sue someone for just about anything) but since Brown’s book is “fiction” can’t he say pretty much anything without giving credit?

 

[RyanL]

JLove:

I don’t know much about suing (except that you can sue someone for just about anything) but since Brown’s book is “fiction” can’t he say pretty much anything without giving credit?

I don’t get to intellectual property until next year, but here is a good link explaining the basics. The bottom line is that Dan Brown stole ideas, and he’s about to get nailed for it.

God Bless,
RyanL

P.S.
Right now I am studying about all of the things you can’t sue for, and you should never forget the ability of a judge to throw out a frivolous case…

 

[JLove]

Thanks for the link.

RyanL:

Right now I am studying about all of the things you can’t sue for …

Sounds like a good idea probably a lot less to learn.

 

[dafalax]

I don’t know how much Dan Brown actually “stole” and how much he gave credit for in footnotes or whatever, but i will note that Richard Leigh was interviewed by the History Channel for some Da Vinci Code special about a year ago. I didn’t hear anything about a lawsuit then, and i’m sure he was enjoying the free publicity. Now that there’s a potential blockbuster and more money to be had, we hear of suing. Interesting.

 

[WanderAimlessly]

I know this will sound uncharitable, but maybe they will bankrupt each other in the court fight. Lawyer fees can add up quickly.

PF

 

[aurora77]

I thought it was pretty obvious that Brown used their book as at least a source for his. I wonder why they didn’t sue sooner? Seems fishy to me.

 

[Riley259]

Semper Fi:

Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, is to face a High Court action brought by the authors of the 1982 non-fiction book The Holy Blood, and the Holy Grail, who allege that his blockbuster was based on their decade of research.

Speaking ahead of a preliminary hearing of the case next week, Richard Leigh, 62, one of the writers, said: “I don’t begrudge Brown his success. I have no particular grievance against him, except for the fact that he wrote a pretty bad novel (my emphasis and my sentiments exactly).”

Mr Leigh, an American who has lived in England since 1974, and Michael Baigent, 57, a New Zealander, his co-author, are suing Random House, Brown’s publishers, for infringement of their ideas.

telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/21/wvinci21.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/10/21/ixnewstop.html

I’d be embarrassed to be the one to take credit for the outrageous ideas in that novel. Like the Di Vinci Code, the book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a joke*.*

 

[Semper_Fi_1]

Riley259:

I’d be embarrassed to be the one to take credit for the outrageous ideas in that novel. Like the Di Vinci Code, the book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a joke*.*

Yes I agree, I’ve read it. It’s also a mockery of the non-fiction genre.

 

[Socrates]

Riley259:

I’d be embarrassed to be the one to take credit for the outrageous ideas in that novel. Like the Di Vinci Code, the book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a joke*.*

It is sort of silly. Somebody stealing schlocky history in order to write a schlocky novel.

I guess the most appalling thing is that someone spent an entire decade on that holy blood/holy grail trash. lol

 

[Like]

Hopefully! Both sides will go broke over it, but I suspect that added publishity of it will only make someone richer.
If anyone is interested, there is a new Catholic book out called “Rejecting the Da Vinci Code”. I order today from here

I hope I did that right.