LONDON (CNN) - Bringing a high-profile courtroom drama to an end, a judge Friday ruled that bestselling author Dan Brown did not plagiarize a 1982 book when writing his blockbuster "The Da Vinci Code."

The tale of secret messages, puzzles and hidden religious rites was a publishing juggernaut, selling some 40 million copies and making Brown famous.

A movie based on the bestselling book, starring Tom Hanks, will be released in May.

A movie of the book, starring Tom Hanks, has been shot and will be released next month. And 5 million new paperback copies are headed for bookstores to coincide with the movie's release.

But two authors of a book written more than two decades ago claimed parts of Brown's book were taken from them. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, the authors of "The Holy Blood, the Holy Grail," claimed in their plagiarism suit that Brown ripped off a key theory from their book -- that Jesus survived his crucifixion, married Mary Magdalene and had children.

Brown told the court he was "astounded" by the suit and said Baigent and Leigh's claim was "simply untrue."

In a witness statement, Brown said it was "absurd to suggest that I have organized and presented my novel in accordance with the same general principles" as the other book. He claimed most of the research for "The Da Vinci Code" was done by his wife, Blythe, and that neither he nor his wife consulted "The Holy Blood, the Holy Grail" until the idea and story line of his book were very well developed.

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