'Da Vinci Code' Legal Battle Begins
Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006

"The Da Vinci Code" drama opens Monday -- but not in theaters.

The best-selling novel and soon-to-be film is at the center of a court challenge in which two men claim author Dan Brown ripped off their ideas.

According Agence France Presse, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing their own publishers, Random House, claiming Brown's book draws heavily on their 1982 bestseller "Holy Blood, Holy Grail."

Brown's 2003 book has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and earned him $78.5 million in one year, instantly making the writer one of the world's richest. The rest