Oh, come on...

Baigent and Leigh are suing Dan Brown over the Da Vinci Code. I still haven't read Da Vinci Code, but even a cursory synopsis of the story reveals how dependent it is on the thesis of Baigent and Leigh's book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail (I wonder what Henry Lincoln is up to?) I don't know how strong Baigent and Leigh's legal claim is, since with claims like this it's all in the way ideas are presented. According to the article, the judge suggested that it's harder now, with internet and all, to know the origin of whatever one happens to read. Perhaps that's true, but it doesn't mean that everything online is free for the taking. Also, it's just not possible that Brown could have done any research on the Priory of Sion and not come across HB,HG.

Ah, here's a longer article about the lawsuit from the Telegraph. Apparently, Lincoln is ill. According to this, a character in the book actually refers to HB,HG. So, as I recall, did a character in Foucault's Pendulum. As for their complaint, Baigent says that Brown's fictional work using their thesis makes it "far easier to dismiss as a farrago of nonsense."

So, that's what makes it easy?