The greedy bastards got what they deserved! NOTHING!!! That's awesome!

Judge Rules in Favor of 'Da Vinci' Writer

A judge ruled Friday that mega-selling author Dan Brown did not steal ideas for "The Da Vinci Code" from a nonfiction work, ending the suspense about the case with an ultimately unsurprising decision.

High Court judge Peter Smith rejected a copyright-infringement claim by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," who claimed that Brown's blockbuster "appropriated the architecture" of their 1982 book. In the United States, the book is titled, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail."

The ruling will allow a film based on the book and starring Tom Hanks to open as scheduled on May 19.

Smith said the plaintiffs had based their copying claim on a "selective number of facts and ideas artificially taken out of (the book) for the purpose of the litigation."

"It would be quite wrong if fictional writers were to have their writings pored over in the way DVC (Da Vinci Code) has been pored over in this case by authors of pretend historical books to make an allegation of infringement of copyright," Smith said in his 71-page.

Brown said he was pleased by the ruling "not only from a personal standpoint but also as a novelist."

Read more: Yahoo! Top Stories - Judge Rules in Favor of 'Da Vinci' Writer