LONDON, April 28 (UPI) -- The code embedded by a London judge having some fun with his written decision in "The Da Vinci Code" plagiarism case has been cracked.
"Smithy Code Jackie Fisher who are you Dreadnought" was the message Justice Peter Smith hid in his ruling in favor of "da Vinci" author Dan Brown, the BBC reported Friday.
"The message reveals a significant, but now overlooked event that occurred virtually 100 years to the day of the start of the trial," Smith said in a statement.
He was referring to Adm. Jackie Fisher's development of the battleship HMS Dreadnought, which was launched in February 1906, the BBC said.
Smith said it took him a total of about 80 minutes to work out the code and hide it in his text.
He earlier said he decided to create the secret message as a "matter of fun."
In the decision, Smith ruled Brown did not lift material from "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" for his breakout best-seller.
Director Ron Howard's film version of "The Da Vinci Code" opens worldwide May 19.
