'Da Vinci Code' author sued for plagiarism

Published: 2006-08-28

HOLYOKE, Mass. (CNS) -- Claiming that Dan Brown, author of the phenomenally successful fictional thriller "The Da Vinci Code," plagiarized his book, "The Vatican Boys," Catholic author Jack Dunn filed a $400 million lawsuit Aug. 16 in the U.S. District Court in Springfield. Dunn, a Holyoke native, named Brown; Random House, Brown's publisher; Columbia Pictures; Imagine Entertainment; Sony Releasing; and Sony Pictures, producer of the screen version of the book, in the lawsuit. Dunn said extensive portions of his book appear in Brown's book and that there are many similarities in the text, the characters and plot points of "The Da Vinci Code" that closely parallel the characters and plot points in "The Vatican Boys." Dunn's historical novel was written and copyrighted in 1997, while "The Da Vinci Code" was released in 2003.

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