The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown and reps from his publisher Random House were in a federal courthouse in Manhattan yesterday denying charges that he had “lifted material for his bestseller from another book.” As Carl Campanile reports in a New York Post story, “Brown’s lawyer urged Judge George Daniels to toss out copyright-infringement claims made by rival author Lewis Perdue,” who says “Brown lifted plot material from two of his books — ‘The Da Vinci Legacy’ and ‘Daughter of God’ — and used it in ‘The Da Vinci Code.'” The judge said he will issue a ruling in the spring.