Making headlines in national media today are reports that The DaVinci Code author, Dan Brown has won a copyright infringement lawsuit that had been filed by the two authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail. You can read the AP story at Newsday.com. This just goes to prove the old adage, “You can’t copyright an idea.” Unless Dan Brown actually copied the words in some significant and substantive form, such that the average reader would likely discern the similarity, one author could completely copy another’s plot line idea. As the second author wrote their own version of a story, where’s the copyright violation? Key to the report are the comments that:
While skeptical about the Browns, the judge almost pitied their accusers, as witnesses and as writers. He read “Holy Blood” multiple times and found their claims contrived and insupportable, though he did praise them for a “very interesting book to read whether or not it is credible. (Judge) Smith speculated that they were jealous of Brown’s success, and he wondered why they couldn’t appreciate the “genuine and handsome recognition of their role” in the novel, which openly acknowledges their book. But he would not accept that the lawsuit was a scheme by both sides to make money.
Read the rest of the story HERE.
