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Well, I had been sorely tempted to combine my interests in law and vaguely fortean literature by taking advantage of some time off on Thursday afternoon to pop in to watch the Holy Blood and Holy Grail / Da Vinci Code case before heading off to the Tun. Unfortunately it seems that Baigent & Leigh v Random House has been adjourned until next Tuesday so that Mr Justice Peter Smith can read both books, which by all accounts will spoil his weekend nicely. I share many people's opinion of the weakness of the Claimants' case but it would have been nice to have had the chance to see M'Learned Friends explaining the merits of the Dodgy Conspiracy Theory versus the Crap Thriller.
I personally rate Baigent and Leigh's chances as near-zero; Brown was nowhere near breaching copyright, and not even that close to passing-off. I can only assume that Random House may refrain from seeking summary judgement - i.e. asking the Judge to throw the case out as hopeless - in the hope of winning a resounding victory and setting a precedent that clarifies the law in this area, thus insulating them against further such claims. Nonetheless, this can't be a cheap process for either side; they're represented by Leading Counsel (i.e. QCs) and with all the ancillary costs of litigation thrown it I doubt if they're seeing much change from £10k a day, and that's leaving aside the costs of preparation. Indeed, the fact that the case has gone to court at all illustrates just how much money there is to be made writing dodgy conspiracy theories and crap thrillers.
I personally rate Baigent and Leigh's chances as near-zero; Brown was nowhere near breaching copyright, and not even that close to passing-off. I can only assume that Random House may refrain from seeking summary judgement - i.e. asking the Judge to throw the case out as hopeless - in the hope of winning a resounding victory and setting a precedent that clarifies the law in this area, thus insulating them against further such claims. Nonetheless, this can't be a cheap process for either side; they're represented by Leading Counsel (i.e. QCs) and with all the ancillary costs of litigation thrown it I doubt if they're seeing much change from £10k a day, and that's leaving aside the costs of preparation. Indeed, the fact that the case has gone to court at all illustrates just how much money there is to be made writing dodgy conspiracy theories and crap thrillers.
