Judge to rule on 'Da Vinci Code'

LONDON (AP) — Like a good thriller, The Da Vinci Code trial has had drama, controversy and conflict. And it's ending with a cliffhanger — which way will a judge rule in the copyright infringement case against the publisher of Dan Brown's world-conquering novel? High Court justice Peter Smith rules Friday in the claim by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh against Da Vinci Code publisher Random House. Smith must decide whether Brown's blockbuster "appropriated the architecture" of Baigent and Leigh's 1982 non-fiction book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. In the United States, the book is titled, Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Both books explore theories that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, the couple had a child and the bloodline survives. Most historians and theologians scoff at such ideas, but Brown's fast-paced mix of murder, mysticism, code-breaking and art history has won millions of fans. [More]