Da Vinci ruling out in a month
2006-03-21 09:16
London - In a new cliff-hanger, the judge in a lawsuit over whether author Dan Brown copied another book when producing his bestseller The Da Vinci Code, said Monday he will deliver his ruling within a month.
Judge Peter Smith told the High Court in London on the final day of hearings that he hoped to give his judgment before the Easter holiday, which falls around Easter Sunday on April 16.
Brown is accused of lifting key elements from The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail, itself a top-selling book published in 1982, to pen his 2003 novel which has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
Both books explore the idea that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, they had children and their descendants survived up to the present day.
The authors of the earlier work, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, are claiming damages against Random House - the publisher of both books.
Brown has attended and given evidence at the high-profile hearing, which opened on February 27.
Jonathan Rayner James, lawyer for Baigent and Leigh, argued on Monday that Brown's evidence denying he had copied material from their book should be viewed with "deep suspicion".
The US author has claimed he had not read the other book until a late stage in the production of The Da Vinci Code.
Brown, however, has admitted that much of the research for the novel was carried out by his wife, Blythe, who did not appear in court.
"The evidence of Blythe Brown was of fundamental importance to this case," said James.
"It was crucial in revealing the dependency on The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail and the extent to which she relied upon it. Perhaps that explains why she was not produced," he said.
Brown has said he did not want his wife involved because she did not like the glare of publicity.
He has rejected as "completely fanciful" that he stole ideas for his book.