Before the 'Da Vinci Code'

Unknown perhaps to most Da Vinci watchers is the fact that about four or five months ago, Dan Brown was sued by three British writers who claimed that Brown had filched their intellectual property to use in his novel without asking their permission, and asked for damages amounting to, if memory serves, a cool $200 million. Brown may have to settle out of court, if he hasn't done so yet.

The three - Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln - are authors of a book titled Holy Blood Holy Grail which was published in 1982, or 21 years before Brown's The Da Vinci Code.