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British High Court Finds For The Da Vinci Code

Nearly a year after a lower court ruling that The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown had not infringed the copyright on the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, Britain’s Court of Appeal has affirmed the ruling. The High Court noted that while copyright protects an author’s labor in researching and writing a book, it does not extend to facts, theories, and themes.

The Court not only ruled against the defendants Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, but ordered them to pay Random House, Dan Brown’s publisher over $600,000 for the cost of the appeal. This seems like a lot, but compared to their own legal fees, estimated to be over $6 million, the penalty does not seem so bad.

Brett Trout

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