“The Da Vinci Code,” Dan Brown’s best-selling novel, has spawned a host of literary imitators, board and video games, a travel journal, a Fodor’s guide, a major feature film, a diet plan, and now, perhaps, a Supreme Court case.
While Random House, Brown’s publisher, fended off a copyright infringement suit in Britain, it went on the offensive against an American author, Lewis Perdue, who also believes that Dan Brown stole the basis of “The Da Vinci Code” from his works. Perdue wrote two novels, “The Da Vinci Legacy” and “Daughter of God” which — as one might surmise from their titles — explore themes similar to those that form the basis of Brown’s blockbuster mystery. In their private conference Thursday, the nine Supreme Court justices will consider whether to weigh in on this dispute by hearing the case of Lewis Perdue v. Dan Brown and Random House (No. 06-213).
