The Bookseller.com

22nd November 2008

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Holy Blood authors face £3m bill

29.03.07

The Telegraph reports that the two authors who failed to prove a breach of copyright by Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, now face costs estimated at up to £3m, after they lost their appeal yesterday. It was the second defeat for Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, two of the three authors of The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, who had sued Brown's publisher, Random House.

Lord Justice Lloyd said that Mr Justice Peter Smith had been entitled to conclude that Brown had not copied the central theme of the claimants' book. Since he had not copied a "substantial part" of The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, the copyright claim was dismissed. Lords Justices Rix and Mummery agreed.

Telegraph

Dan Brown Random House Michael Baigent The Da Vinci Code Richard Leigh