A judge in New York has ruled that Dan Brown's wildly popular best-seller, The Da Vinci Code, does not infringe on the copyrights of another author.
Brown's book is not "substantially similar" to Lewis Perdue's Daughter of God, U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels ruled on Thursday.
Perdue had been seeking $150 US million in damages. He claimed that Brown had lifted elements of his story from Daughter of God.
"Although both novels at issue are mystery thrillers, Daughter of God is more action-packed, with several gunfights and violent deaths," Daniels said in his ruling, which was dated Thursday.
"The Da Vinci Code on the other hand, is an intellectual, complex treasure hunt, focusing more on the codes, number sequences, cryptexes and hidden messages left behind as clues than on any physical adventure."
The two are "simply different" stories, he added.
Featuring a Harvard symbolism expert named Robert Langdon, Brown's novel purports to expose an alleged secret at the heart of Christianity – that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and had children whose descendents live in modern-day France.
In the book, which has been attacked by the leaders of a number of Christian denominations, Langdon races to assemble clues hidden in famous art works and landmarks.
Set in the world of art, Daughter of God tells the story of a husband-and-wife team who unearth a document describing the life of a fourth-century female Christian messiah named Sophia.
Perdue's suit claimed that Brown lifted his basic premise from Daughter of God, as well as other ideas, including the notion of female spirituality being covered up by the Roman Catholic Church.
"Ideas and general literary themes themselves are unprotectible under the copyright law," Daniels said.
Perdue's suit came in response to a suit filed by Brown and his publisher, Random House, last year. They had asked the court to declare that The Da Vinci Code does not infringe on Perdue's work.
Daniels also ruled that The Da Vinci Code does not infringe on another book by Perdue, The Da Vinci Legacy.
Director Ron Howard is currently shooting a big-screen adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, to be released next year.
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