Author Dan Brown "astounded" at copying claim
By Mike Collett-White
LONDON (Reuters) - Author Dan Brown said on Monday he was "astounded" at allegations by two historians that he copied their work wholesale when he wrote the best-selling religious thriller "The Da Vinci Code.
In a statement released to reporters after he took the witness stand for the first time, the 41-year-old also pointed out that he credited the work of Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh in the body of his novel.
"I would like to restate that I remain astounded by the claimants' choice to file this plagiarism suit," he said.
"For them to suggest, as I understand they do, that I have hijacked and exploited their work is simply untrue.
The two historians, who have already given evidence, are suing Brown's British publisher Random House, which also publishes their own 1982 historical work "The Holy Blood, and the Holy Grail".
Both books deal with the theme of Jesus marrying and having a child by Mary Magdalene and their bloodline being protected by the mysterious Priory of Sion, a theory that has been greeted with outrage by some Catholic leaders.
But Random House's lawyers say the ideas are too general to protect by copyright, there are many differences between the two books and that Brown drew on a number of sources.
The U.S. author was asked during cross-examination about his working practices and those of his wife Blythe, who helped research books including The Da Vinci Code. She emerges as a key source both of his research and his ideas.
"If I did actually read all she asked me to read, I probably would never have written the book," he said.
Wearing a yellow tie, blue shirt and blue jacket, and watched by the world's media in a packed courtroom, the millionaire author appeared relaxed as the case entered its third, and possibly final week.
ATTRIBUTION
Referring to the allegations of copyright infringement made against him, Brown added in the statement: "(They) contain numerous sweeping statements which seem to me to be completely fanciful.
"Messieurs Baigent and Leigh are only two of a number of authors who have written about the bloodline story and yet I went out of my way to mention them for being the ones who brought the theory to mainstream attention.
In the novel, one of Brown's main characters is Leigh Teabing -- whose name is an anagram of "Leigh" and "Baigent" -- and he refers directly to The Holy Blood in the narrative.
Brown's 69-page witness statement describes how he and Blythe struggled to make ends meet during his early days as a writer, and how he composed the main synopsis of The Da Vinci Code in a cramped laundry room in his parents' house.
He also says he wakes up at 4 a.m. every morning.
"In addition to starting early, I keep an antique hour glass on my desk and every hour break briefly to do push-ups, sit-ups, and some quick stretches," he adds. "I find this helps keep the blood (and ideas) flowing.
With an estimated 40 million copies of The Da Vinci Code sold world-wide, and the potential for an important copyright precedent to be set, the stakes are high at London's High Court.
But the proceedings are not expected to affect a major Hollywood adaptation of the book starring Tom Hanks, which is due for release in May.
Last August, Brown won a court ruling against another writer, Lewis Perdue, who claimed The Da Vinci Code copied elements of two of his novels, "Daughter of God" and "The Da Vinci Legacy.
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