The High Court in London has begun hearing a case in which the publishers of the best-selling novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’, Random House, are being sued for plagiarism.
The action has been brought by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, the authors of a 1982 non-fiction work entitled ‘The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail’.
It deals with claims that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child whose blood line was protected by the Knights Templar and that the Catholic Church tried to cover it up.
The two writers claim Dan Brown copied their work for his blockbuster novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and they are suing its publishers, Random House, who also published their book.
The publicity-shy Mr Brown, one of the highest-paid authors in history, came to the court this morning to act as a witness in Random House’s defence.
The case is likely to centre on the extent to which a writer can use others' research.
If the two historians are successful, further sales of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ could be stopped in Britain and it could threaten the British release of the film adaptation of the novel, starring Tom Hanks, which is due to open in May.
