Bad Reporting & Random House's Twisted Spin

This piece by Rachel Deahl from the April 20, 2006 issue of Publisher's Weekly Daily conveniently neglects the truth of the matter: I did not sue Random House.

The reporter in this case also reflects the defamatory nature of truly sloppy reporting, saying that I "had tried to cash in on his own copyright infringement case."

A little fact checking would have revealed that Random House sued me, not the other way around.

Doubleday's president and publisher Stephen Rubin was quoted: "We are tremendously pleased that now two Federal courts have found in favor of Dan Brown and that there were clearly no grounds for the claims against him."

No, Mr. Rubin: the facts are clear and on the web that there is a case. But you have a multi-billion-dollar company and enough money for lawyers to game the system.

Regardless of what the courts decide, the facts are there for everyone to see that there is a clear case against Mr. Brown and that is not going away.

The Battle Continues

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals violated its own rules regarding summary judgement and about considering works as a whole in copyright infringement cases and has affirmed the District Court ruling.

We are currently preparing our petition to have the U.S. Supreme Court consider the case.

The biggest issue (other than the Second Circuit not following its own rules) is the fact that the Ninth Circuit out here on the West Coast has standards regarding infringement that are significantly different from the Second Circuit's especially when it comes to interpreting the lay reader role with regard to summary judgement.

The 9th consistently denies summary judgement (allowing a trial on the facts) even in cases where there are far more significant issues and far fewer of them than we have shown so far in our case.

And while the 9th has a reputation as the most overturned circuit in the nation, the Supreme Court as consistently upheld its rulings in copyright infringement.

More later.

Happy Birthday, Leonardo!

A day late! (Sorry dude). Good details here.

Below are some of the photos taken in 1981 when I researched material for The Da Vinci Legacy.

Lewis Perdue, 1981, inside Leonardo's home in Vinci, click here for larger picture

1981, Leonardo Da Vinci Museum, Milano, click here for larger picture




1981, Leonardo's Last Supper, before restoration, click here for larger picture

Yet Another Plagiarism Suit Against Brown

Brown faces second plagiarism claim

This one in Russia:

"Dr Mikhail Anikin has claimed that Brown has plagiarised his book, Leonardo Da Vinci: Theology In Paint. This book, published in 2000, puts forward the theory that the famed Mona Lisa painting was in fact an allegory for the Christian church, an idea used by Brown in his smash-hit novel."

Good luck. Ideas are not protected. Just the expression.

Why No New Posts Here?

I've received a lot of emails asking why I don't have a lot of new posts.

Well, it's NOT because nothing has been happening and it's NOT because I have thrown in the towel.

It IS because there are some pretty significant things in the works that we do not want Random House to know about and we know they read this blog.

When it happens, you probably won't read about it here first. You won't have to. You'll read about it everywhere else. I'll talk about the details when that happens.

What CAN I talk about now?

Well, the appeals hearing happened April 11. How long before their decision? I'm told perhaps 30 days plus or minus.

I had a chance to talk to the opposing counsel and congratulated them on their represetation of their client. Obviously I disagree with their position and some of the tactics (previously discussed on this blog) but I do think they have presented the RH case superlatively.

After the hearing, we had a short, decent, polite conversation in the hallway waiting for the elevator. It's ironic that had RH engaged me in just such a conversation back in May 2003 (rather than going thermonuclear in response to my inquiry) this entire legal war would never have happened. Like most wars, this one was needless and a waste of resources.

The manner in which Random House/Bertelsmann initiated their Hiroshima legal attack on me without ever once having a discussion reminds me of how wars get started and how they always produce unexpected consequences.

All of that combined with the conversation with the RH lawyers reminds me of the Thomas Hardy poem, "The Man he Killed."

Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have set us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!

But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.

I shot him dead because—
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That's clear enough; although

He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-hand like—just as I—
Was out of work—had sold his traps—
No other reason why.

Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat, if met where any bar is,
Or help to half a crown.


I always wonder why courts at every level fail to require both parties to certify that they engaged in a decent conversation before filing a lawsuit. And prohibit such a filing until and unless that conversation has been had.

Not lawyers talking to lawyers, but both parties, sitting down in the same room across a table from each other, speaking to each other directly. Record it, have lawyers present if desired, but have both parties certify that the conversation was had.

That alone would probably eliminate the backlog in the courts ... but then that would impact lawyers' billings, incomes would drop. Thus lawyers have a great incentive to sue and sue and sue regardless of whether court was ever necessary in the first place.

It's like arms merchants who have an incentive to bomb and bomb and bomb and generals who have no job security unless there is a battle to justify their existence.

I think that Random House would never have sued me had we had that conversation. Indeed, had we had that conversation in may 2003, I would never have taken my plagiarism case to the Internet.

Dan Brown Wins in London

MSNBC has the first mention of what should be a tsunami of stories today.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, I felt that Baigent & Leigh made a weak case based on generalities. The fact that they had written a non-fiction book was the death-blow to their case.

The MSNBC story correctly stated that, "A victory by Baigent and Leigh would have challenged the concept that copyright protects the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself."

I agree which is why my case is based on lifting my expression. I have consistently said that despite Random House's falsehoods to the contrary.

As the court filings confirm, my work is fiction and my infringement case based on hundreds of concerted, coherent and substantial similarities too numerous and comprehensive to be coincidence.

A trial would reveal this, but Random House is using its multi-billion-dollar resources to game the court system to prevent the facts from being heard by a jury.

Random House Lies, The Saga Continues

Because there are no perjury penalties for lawyers who lie in their court filings (a lie being distortions, misrepresentations, falsehoods, torturing facts by taking them out of conduct etc), it's not surprising that the Random House briefs are filled with them.

I've documented many of these before on this blog. And now, as we prepare for the appeals court hearing next week, (April 11 in New York City), more and more lies pop out as we go over the filings one more time.

I'll not deal with any major ones until after the hearing, but one which just popped out right now comes from Random House's Rule 56 statement, point 129 on page 31 of the .pdf: "There are no sex scenes in Da Vinci Code, just a simply kiss."

Hmmmm, no sex? Simple kiss?

Perhaps the RH lawyers never read Chapter 74 of DVC (p. 311):

"On a low, ornate altar in the center of the circle lay a man. He was naked, positioned on his back, and wearing a black mask. Sophie in-stantly recognized his body and the birthmark on his shoulder. She almost cried out. Grand-père! This image alone would have shocked Sophie beyond belief, and yet there was more.

"Straddling her grandfather was a naked woman wearing a white mask, her luxuriant silver hair flowing out behind it. Her body was plump, far from perfect, and she was gyrating in rhythm to the chanting—making love to Sophie’s grandfather."

Hmmm ... "No sex please, we're British," now becomes "No sex please, we're Random House's lawyers."