A British judge has rejected claims that U.S. author Dan Brown plagiarized the work of two historians in his best selling novel “The Da Vinci Code.”

High Court judge Peter Smith rejected a copyright-infringement claim by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who said Brown’s blockbuster “appropriated the architecture” of their 1982 book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail.”

“Today’s verdict shows that this claim was utterly without merit, I’m still astonished that these two authors chose to file their suit at all,” Brown said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.

“I’m pleased with today’s outcome, not only from a personal standpoint but also as a novelist,” he said, adding that he was eager to return to writing.