Judge Rules for 'Da Vinci' Author

A federal judge has ruled that Dan Brown's blockbuster novel "The Da Vinci Code" did not copy two earlier works by Lewis Perdue, who has loudly accused Mr. Brown of copyright infringement for much of the last two years. Judge George B. Daniels of Federal District Court in Manhattan wrote in the decision, dated Thursday and released yesterday, that "there is no substantial similarity" between "The Da Vinci Code" and Mr. Perdue's books "Daughter of God" and "The Da Vinci Legacy." Both of those books "involve the unprotectable idea of a mystery thriller set against a religious backdrop," Judge Daniels said, but ideas and general literary themes are not protected by copyright. "Daughter of God" is more action-packed, "with several gunfights and violent deaths," the judge said, while "The Da Vinci Code" is "an intellectual, complex treasure hunt" that features clues and puzzles more than "any physical adventure." A spokeswoman for Doubleday, Mr. Brown's publisher, said the company was pleased with the decision. A lawyer representing Mr. Perdue did not immediately return a phone call yesterday seeking comment on the decision. EDWARD WYATT

Domingo Ponders Retirement

The tenor Plácido Domingo - who said he began his career by singing opposite divas like Lily Pons who were old enough to be his grandmother, before graduating to "big sisters" like Leontyne Price and Joan Sutherland and now to women who could be his granddaughters - is contemplating retirement, Agence France-Presse reported. "The day is close that I quit singing," Mr. Domingo, 64, said in Berlin, where he is to perform a concert tonight that is expected to draw an audience of 20,000. After expressing concern about the age gap between himself and his co-stars, he said he was not sure how to end his career. "I really don't know how to do it - a tour or a concert or if I just say that's it, that's the last night," he said. But he said he had no intention of saying farewell with a major concert tour, only to make a comeback a few years later. And before he leaves the stage, he added, he wants to sing the baritone title role in Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra." ... The busy Valery Gergiev, the artistic and general director of the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as the principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and the principal conductor-designate of the London Symphony Orchestra, is on a mission to make Russian classical music great again, Reuters reported. So when he meets Vladimir Putin, also from St. Petersburg, he said, "I tell him, 'Do we have a chance to improve dramatically the situation of the provincial orchestras in Russia?' He asks, 'What is the situation?' and I tell him we lost, in the 1980's and 1990's especially, many great teachers, many great musicians, not only famous ones but also thousands of teachers and tens of thousands of professional musicians."

No Dancing in Prague

"Celtic Tiger," the latest dance extravaganza starring Michael Flatley, who entertained audiences worldwide in "Riverdance" and "Lord of the Dance," has run into trouble in Prague. Czech concert promoters are suing Mr. Flatley and threatening criminal charges after he pulled out of his engagement there, scheduled for an Aug. 27 premiere, Radek Coufal, a lawyer speaking for the promoters, said yesterday. In a statement on his Web site, Mr. Flatley, who had rescheduled the show from July 12, said that he regretted the cancellation but that it had been caused by safety concerns. The concert promoters, Pragokoncert, told Agence France-Presse that they were filing a criminal complaint about Mr. Flatley's "incorrect behavior" and seeking tens of thousands of dollars in damages for lost ticket sales, lost profits and costs. Mr. Flatley said, "The stage structure was deemed unsafe, and despite various attempts to remedy this with the promoter, there was no alternative but to cancel the show." Blanka Bestalkova, a Pragokoncert spokeswoman, said all safety standards had been met.

Influential Dylan

In the opinion of rock and film stars, the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone" packs clout. In a poll to determine the music, movies, television shows and books that changed the world, the 1965 single by Mr. Dylan, right, led the way, finishing ahead of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel," the BBC reported. The survey commemorates the 100th issue of Uncut magazine. Mr. Dylan's song "got me through adolescence," said Patti Smith, who responded to the poll, as did Sir Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher, Robert Downey Jr., Keith Richards, Lou Reed and Brian Wilson. The top movie, at No. 5, was Stanley Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange," followed by the first two "Godfather" films. "The Prisoner," at No. 10, was the top-ranking television series, and Jack Kerouac's "On the Road," at No. 19, was the highest finisher among novels. ... Published in 1957, "On the Road" is finally bound for the big screen. Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope production company, which has owned the rights to it since 1979, is joining with the Brazilian Walter Salles, who directed "The Motorcycle Diaries," in a production expected to be cast and go before the cameras next year, Reuters reported. Mr. Coppola, who will serve as an executive producer, said, "The book is inherently difficult to adapt to the screen, and we've never quite found the right combination of director and writer to do it justice until now." The screenwriter will be José Rivera, who collaborated with Mr. Salles on "The Motorcycle Diaries."

Fighting Starvation

Five weeks after the Live 8 concerts focused attention on poverty in Africa, West African musicians are to perform today in Niamey, the capital of Niger, to raise money for food, the BBC reported. Organized by the first lady, Laraba Tandja, the concert will feature the singers Dj Christy B, TV5 Fouka Fouka and Kilabongo from Ivory Coast, and the Niger groups Kaydan Gaskiya, Queen ZM and Kamikaze. About 150,000 children in Niger are severely malnourished, and 2.5 million people in the region, plagued by locusts and a shortage of rain, need food.

Will War Be Hell for FX?

Thursday nights are good nights for CBS, and this week the network was No. 1 in every hour of Nielsen's estimates, as it nearly always is. The weekly "Big Brother" elimination episode, which featured the purging of Kaysar Ridha, a graphic designer who was the house manipulator, drew 7.76 million viewers. That was followed by reruns of "CSI" (13.5 million) and "Without a Trace" (11.88 million), both of which easily won their time slots in total viewers and in the significant demographic groups. Facing the "CSI" repeat at 9 p.m., the most-watched program of the night, new episodes of ABC's "Hooking Up" (4.01 million) and NBC's "Law Firm" (4.01 million) were limp. FX's new series, "Over There," about the Iraq war, did not fare as well in its second week as it did in its first. Wednesday's episode brought in 2.6 million viewers. That was a steep decline from the debut episode, which drew an audience of 4.1 million. KATE AURTHUR