'Da Vinci Code' case to test copyright on ideas

A court case involving the popular bestseller The Da Vinci Code is being closely watched because of its potential to redefine the limits of intellectual property.

Two historians who wrote a 1982 book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail claim Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown stole the "whole architecture" of his thriller from their book.

Unlike in most copyright cases, Brown is not being accused of copying text from the book, but of stealing ideas.

In beginning his defence on Tuesday, John Baldwin, a lawyer for Brown's publisher, Random House, pointed out that no part of The Da Vinci Code is copied from the earlier book.

The ideas the historians, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, claim were stolen are too general to be the subject of copyright, said Baldwin. 

"A further difficulty for the claimant is that The Da Vinci Code doesn't actually have many of the points of the central theme," said Baldwin. "We say that's fatal to their case."

Holy Blood, Holy Grail postulates that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, they had children and their bloodline survives to the present day. The plot of Brown's thriller involves an elaborate cover-up within the Catholic church of the relationship between Jesus and Mary.

But Baldwin said many important themes of Holy Blood, Holy Grail did not feature in The Da Vinci Code, particularly the idea that a secretive order called the Priory of Sion exists and seeks to restore descendants of Jesus Christ to the thrones of Europe.

Brown was in court Tuesday, as opening arguments in the case continued for a second day. The court is expected to adjourn for a week to give the judge time to read both books and review points of law.

Baigent and Leigh are asking for an injunction that could prevent the release of the movie based on The Da Vinci Code, scheduled for May.

Brown's book has sold 40 million copies and made him a literary star. He is expected to testify next week.

Copyright specialist Conan Chitham says other writers with lukewarm book sales are watching closely.

"This case, if it goes in the way of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail authors, it could open a floodgate of litigation for people who have had their ideas, as they see it, stolen by other, more successful people," Chitham told CBC Radio. The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail is the name given to the 2005 illustrated reissue of Baigent and Leigh's book.

Classic plagiarism suits allege that words and sentences are lifted and copied without credit. Many observers are surprised that this suit, which seems to be trying to copyright ideas, has proceeded this far.

"It is very difficult to talk about plagiarism in terms of themes between novels. Otherwise there wouldn't be that many novels written because everyone feeds off everybody else," says David Hayden, who is in charge of sales at Foyle's Bookstore, one of the oldest and largest shops in Britain.

Jonathan Rayner James, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Monday that his clients were not attempting to "stultify creative endeavour" or to claim a monopoly on ideas or historical debate.

Brown credits Holy Blood, Holy Grail in his research and the claimants seek to prove he "relied heavily" on their work, he said.

Baldwin said Brown developed most of the central ideas of his book independently.

"He found the ideas that he wanted to use in his novel before either he or his wife had looked at The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," Baldwin said. "The story line was very well developed. He had the ideas in place, and decided to use them."