New York: The Da Vinci Code, the mega-selling thriller by Dan Brown , does not infringe the copyrights of a book published in 2000 by another author. The reasons being that the books are not substantially similar, a federal appeals court says.
The second U S Circuit Court of Appeals issued a five-page order this week, which upheld the decision by U S District Judge George B Daniels in favor of Brown.
Brown and Random House Inc had asked the federal courts to declare that his story exploring codes hidden in Leonardo Da Vinci's artwork was not substantially similar to Daughter of God, a book by author Lewis Perdue.
Perdue had counter sued, seeking $150 million (euro121.5 million) in damages. The appeals court said it agreed with Daniels' conclusion that both novels tell a story based on religious and historical people, places and events. However, the factual details in each are quite different.
The case never made it to trial because Daniels concluded that no jury "could find the works substantially similar."
The appeals court said it considered all of Perdue's arguments and found "them to be without merit." A message left with a lawyer for Perdue was not immediately returned yesterday.
Comments
0 comment