‘Code’ name rift resolved

The publisher of Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” accepted a compromise and will drop demands that a similarly named critique of the bestseller be retitled.

Theologian Darrel Bock named his upcoming nonfiction analysis of the enormously popular mystery novel “Breaking the Da Vinci Code.” It challenges the basis of the original book, which maintains Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child.

“The Da Vinci Code” publisher Random House Inc. sent a cease-and-desist letter earlier this month to Thomas Nelson Inc., saying Bock’s title was too similar and would confuse consumers. The Nashville religious-book publisher responded this week by asking a federal judge to declare that its book in no way infringed on Random House’s rights or trademarks.

But Random House said Thursday it would relent because Thomas Nelson plans to affix a sticker on the “Breaking the Da Vinci Code” cover. The sticker says, “A Critique of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ By Dan Brown.”

“We have withdrawn our objection,” Random House spokesman Stuart Applebaum said.

Published nearly a year ago, “The Da Vinci Code” has more than 6 million hardcover copies in print. The novel begins with a Paris murder mystery, and its sleuths begin to unravel an alternate view of Christian history.