The appeal in the London copyright court case has begun, with the lawyer for Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh presenting their case that the original decision in the case was flawed.

The appellants' case was that the theme appropriated by the Browns and used in DVC (The Da Vinci Code) was a substantial part of the appellants' copyright work and was, thus, an infringement. The judge, however, considered the case to be about whether the central theme (of HBHG) was itself a protectable copyright work. This error led the judge into a series of judgments that were wrong in law and the judge then misapplied the law to his extensive findings of fact. When the law is properly interpreted and is applied to the judge's findings of fact, the only proper conclusion is that the defendant has infringed the appellants' copyright.

Lawyers for both sides will present their cases over a four-day period, with a decision expected soon after.