Deciphering the 'Da Vinci' legal code

As millions of new paperbacks flood stores and the movie version approaches, Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, faces another drama in a London court. At stake in the plagiarism suit are more than $3 million in legal costs, which must be paid by whoever loses the suit, dividends from book sales of more than 40 million copies, and box-office returns from a soon-to-be-released film directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. Justice Peter Smith is deliberating after hearing final arguments last week and is expected to rule in the next few weeks. [More]