Not for the first time, The Da Vinci Code is at the centre of controversy. But fans of Tom Hanks can breath a sigh of relief, as the lawsuit for which lawyers today agreed a date in February 2006, is aimed at the author Dan Brown rather than the film.
The movie, which experts are predicting will be the biggest of 2006, is based on Brown's blockbuster novel. But two historians, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, are claiming Brown pinched "the whole architecture" from their 1982 book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
Brown may not have helped himself by naming one character Leigh Teabing, to be played in the film by Ian McKellen. Commentators have noted this is an anagram of Baigent and Leigh.