The publishers of The Da Vinci Codewon their UK court case today over accusations of plagiarism.
Dan Brown arriving at London's High Court
A judge at the High Court in London rejected allegations by two historians that US author Dan Brown had stolen ideas from their book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
The historians, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, had brought the case against Brown's British publisher, Random House.
Judge Peter Smith gave his verdict at the end of a trial which lasted nearly a month and was followed intensely by reporters, copyright lawyers and fans of the novel, which has sold over 40 million copies worldwide.
"The plaintiffs' case has failed," he said. "Dan Brown has not infringed copyright. None of this amounts to copying The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail."
Mr Brown testified at the hearings, which were peppered with debate over the Merovingian monarchy, the Knights Templar and the bloodline of Jesus Christ, all of which feature in The Da Vinci Code.
The verdict will be welcomed by Bertelsmann, the German media conglomerate which owns Random House, and Sony Pictures, which is due to release a film based on the book soon.
Mr Baigent and Mr Leigh, who published The Holy Bloodin 1982, also with Random House, now face a legal bill of over £1 million sterling ($1.75 million).
However, sales of their own book have shot up as a result of the publicity surrounding the case.
They had based their argument on the similarities between the books, which both raise the possibility Jesus had a child by Mary Magdalene, that she fled to France after the Crucifixion and that Christ's bloodline survives to this day.