'Da Vinci Code' author Dan Brown in copyright suit
'Da Vinci Code' author Dan Brown takes stand in copyright-infringement lawsuit
By Jill Lawless
ASSOCIATED PRESS
10:32 a.m. March 13, 2006
LONDON – In a rare and undesired public appearance, “The Da Vinci Code” novelist Dan Brown dismissed as “completely fanciful” the claims by two authors that he had stolen their ideas.
He said he did not read their book until the structure of his theological thriller was in place.
On Monday – three years to the week after “The Da Vinci Code” was first published – the multimillionaire writer found himself on the witness stand in courtroom 61 of London's High Court, denying accusations of copyright infringement from authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh.
In a witness statement made public by lawyers as he took the stand, Brown said was “shocked at their reaction” to his book. But under questioning by the plaintiffs' lawyer, Brown acknowledged that he could not always recall exact dates of milestones in the creation of his novel. Both books explore theories – dismissed by theologians – that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute but Jesus' wife, the couple had a child and the bloodline survives.
“I cannot possibly tell you the precise date I learned that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute,” Brown told attorney Jonathan Rayner James in front of a courtroom packed with journalists, religious skeptics and fans.
The author, a New Hampshire resident who has given few interviews as his novel became an international sensation, was dressed in a dark suit and yellow tie and appeared composed during testimony. Only occasionally did he show traces of impatience with Rayner James' forensic questioning about documents and dates.
“It's as if you've asked me to go back five years or 10 years and asked me not only what I got for Christmas, but what order I opened the presents,” he said at one point.
Baigent and Leigh are suing “Da Vinci Code” publisher Random House for copyright infringement, claiming Brown “appropriated the architecture” of their 1982 nonfiction book “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.”
If Baigent and Leigh succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the scheduled May 19 release of “The Da Vinci Code” film, starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou.
Random House lawyers argue the ideas in dispute are so general they are not protected by copyright. They also say many of the ideas in “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail” do not feature in Brown's novel, which follows fictional professor Robert Langdon as he investigates the murder of an elderly member of an ancient society that guards dark secrets about the story of Jesus and the quest for the Holy Grail.
In his 69-page witness statement, Brown acknowledged reading Baigent and Leigh's book while he was writing “The Da Vinci Code” – along with 38 other books and more than 300 documents submitted as evidence to the court.
He said Baigent and Leigh's work “was not a crucial or important text in the creation of the framework of 'The Da Vinci Code.'
“I'd never heard of it until I'd seen it mentioned in some of our other research books,” he said.
Brown said he had fully acknowledged his debt to the two authors by having a character in “The Da Vinci Code” refer to the earlier book and its theories.
He even named a character Sir Leigh Teabing – an anagram of Baigent and Leigh.
“Over the past 10 years I have placed in my novels the names of more than two dozen close friends and family,” Brown said. “The names I chose are always those of people I care for or respect.”
Other authors whose works he mentioned had sent letters of thanks, Brown said. But the plaintiffs had made allegations which contain “numerous sweeping statements which seem to me to be completely fanciful.”
The author's statement and testimony provided tantalizing glimpses of his pre-“Da Vinci” life – from pupil at exclusive New England prep school Phillips Exeter Academy to semi-successful Los Angeles songwriter. Brown has also written the thrillers “Deception Point” and “Angels and Demons,” both million sellers thanks to the ongoing fascination with his most recent novel. He has been working on a new book, again featuring protagonist Robert Langdon.
Brown's court appearance also revealed a complex and wide-ranging research process undertaken with wife Blythe Brown, whose interest in “the sacred feminine,” Brown said, led to one of “The Da Vinci Code'“s key themes.
Brown is due to continue his testimony on Tuesday.
The third author of “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail,” Henry Lincoln, is not involved in the case. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Paul Sutton, refused to say why he was not participating. Lincoln, who is in his 70s and reportedly in poor health, could not be reached for comment.
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