Publishers must prepare for a potential surge in copyright claims as the 'Code' book court case looks likely to bring multi-million pound claims to the door of Random House.
Markel International ha …
Publishers must prepare for a potential surge in copyright claims as the 'Davinci Code' book court case looks likely to bring multi-million pound claims to the door of Random House.
Markel International has said that the ongoing Dan Brown court case will lead to the clarification of copyright law and companies within the media sector, who do not act now to protect themselves, could face large scale claims.
More than 30 million copies of Brown's novel have been sold worldwide, and Ros Breese, a specialist professional indemnity underwriter at Markel International, said inevitably the world-wide success of the book increased the risk of a large claim being made against the publisher.
Breese said: "Publishers usually insure against such intellectual property right breaches with a media liability insurance policy.
"This case could mean a very sizeable claim against Random House because, in addition to considerable legal costs, any damages could be decided on a share of profit basis.
"Even if the publisher's defence is successful, and costs are awarded against Mr Baigent and Mr Leigh, Random House will have concerns as to whether such individuals have the financial resources to pay."
