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. A leading media insurance specialist, Markel International said today 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. 

Despite the media hype around this particular case there have in fact been many other cases which have seen high payouts including the James Herbert book “The Spear”. However, the major impact to the media industry as a whole, will be the resulting tightening of the copyright laws, which will increase the need for companies to ensure they are covered against such claims.

More than 30 million copies of Mr 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.

She explains: "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," she said.

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For further information:
Derah McCall
Markel International
+44 (0) 20 7953 6732         

 Note to editors:
1.      Markel International Limited is a specialty property and casualty insurer. Based in London and comprising the international operations of Markel Corporation, it wrote gross premiums in 2004 of $ 746 million. It has five operating divisions writing business either through Markel Syndicate 3000 or Markel International Insurance Company Limited.