A British judge has rejected a claim by two historians who insist that The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown stole his ideas from their earlier work of nonfiction, CNN reports.

The lawsuit, brought by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh against Brown's publisher, Random House, charged that Brown "appropriated the architecture" of their 1982 book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.

Dan Brown's novel, which has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, is built on the idea that Jesus married and had children with Mary Magdalene.


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Brown admitted he'd read their book, and even called one character Sir Leigh Teabing – an anagram of their names – as an acknowledgement of their work. Howevwer, according to the writer, their book was just one of many sources he'd used in his research.

High Court justice Peter Smith said, "The plaintiffs’ case has failed."

The Da Vinci Code is currently being adapted into a film by Columbia Pictures, with director Ron Howard; the film will star Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon, Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu and Sir Ian McKellen as Leigh Teabing. It is scheduled for release on May 19, 2006.

Brown is working on a new novel, called The Solomon Key, which will reportedly take place in Washington DC, and feature the secret society of the Freemasons. Exact release date has not been announced, but the most common media speculation says late 2006 or sometime in 2007.

Brown's promotional website states that puzzles hidden in the bookjacket of The Da Vinci Code (including two referring to the Kryptos sculpture at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia) give hints about the subject of the next novel.

Dan Brown says that he currently has outlines for at least 12 future books, one of which involves a famous composer's "all factual" associations with a secret society. 

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