Finally (Dan Brown)

Well, the authors of Holy Blood Holy Grail finally got tired of their peripheral benefits from Da Vinci Code and sued.

LONDON - It’s the latest twist for the mega-selling conspiracy thriller “The Da
Vinci Code”: a lawsuit against the book’s publisher for breach of copyright that
could taint the novel and delay the much-anticipated movie version.
Michael
Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of the 1982 nonfiction book “The Holy Blood
and the Holy Grail,” are suing publisher Random House, Inc. over the allegation
that parts of their work formed the basis of Dan Brown’s novel, which has sold
more than 40 million copies worldwide and remains high on best seller lists
nearly three years after publication.
If the writers succeed in securing an
injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the scheduled
May 19 release of “The Da Vinci Code” film, starring Tom Hanks and directed by
Ron Howard.

I've rambled on this once before, but this is an interesting development. I'm surprised it took this long, actually... this was pretty much my intro to DVC:

'Hey, there's this book out and it's all about Jesus getting married to mary Magdalene and having kids...'

'You mean like Holy Bloog Holy Grail and the Preacher comics?'

'Wha?'

Etc.

Seems like Brown kinda has to be guilty, but here's his defense:

“This is not an idea that I would ever have found appealing. Being raised a Christian and having sung in my Church choir for 15 years, I’m well aware that Christ’s crucifixion is the very core of the Christian faith,” Brown told reporters outside the courtroom, referring to the argument in the 1982 book that Christ had not died.


Brown has denied claims that he reproduced sections of argument from the 1982 book and said he disputes the proposition it makes that Jesus did not die on the cross.
“Suggesting a married Jesus is one thing, but questioning the Resurrection undermines the very heart of Christian belief,” Brown said in a statement released to reporters.

Interesting take there...