"The Da Vinci Code" Trial against Publishers Has Come to Its End

After three weeks of hearings, the copyright case against the publishers of "The Da Vinci Code" reached its final chapter on Monday with lawyers for the claimants renewing accusations that millionaire author Dan Brown stole their ideas.

"The Da Vinci Code", one of the most successful novels of all times with sales of over 40 million copies, shares some of the same ideas with "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," a 1982 work of historical conjecture by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh.

Both books raise the possibility that Jesus had a child by Mary Magdalene, that she fled to France after the Crucifixion and that Christ's bloodline survives to this day. They also associate Magdalene with the Holy Grail.

"Since first reading The Da Vinci Code, they believe that in writing The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown copied from their work, HBHG," said Jonathan Rayner James, lawyer for Baigent and Leigh. The third author of the Holy Blood book, Henry Lincoln, is not part of the legal action.

Brown's wife Blythe emerged as a key figure in the case, collecting research before he wrote the novel and arguing for the inclusion of some of its most important themes.

Dan Brown, who was not in court on Monday but spent three days under cross examination, last week, explained that he wanted to keep his wife away from the media spotlight.

It is not the first time Brown has been accused of plagiarism. Last August he won a court ruling against Lewis Perdue, who alleged "The Da Vinci Code" copied elements of two of his novels, "Daughter of God" and "The Da Vinci Legacy".

The losing side in the current case faces over $1.75 million in legal costs, although the publicity has caused a spike in sales of the Holy Blood book.