Egypt to copyright the pyramids

@ersmommy1 (12588)
United States
December 28, 2007 11:47am CST
In a potential blow to themed resorts from Vegas to Tokyo, Egypt is to pass a law requiring payment of royalties whenever its ancient monuments, from the pyramids to the sphinx, are reproduced.If the law is passed then it will be applied in all countries of the world.However, the law "does not forbid local or international artists from profiting from drawings and other reproductions of pharaonic and Egyptian monuments from all eras as long as they don't make exact copies." Do you think they intend to charge for monuments already in place? I fully admit to not being well versed on copyright law, but how can you copyright something someone else did thousands of years ago? And are they goiung to send people out to inspect that these are not EXACT??
2 people like this
7 responses
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
28 Dec 07
This is very interesting. I think it will be hard to enforce if this law is passed. People in any country could design pyramids and it would be difficult to prove because they would have a carry out an investigation sometimes thousands of miles away from Egypt. It is great that artists would still be able to paint copies of the pyramids but it would be unfair it they not allowed to have true likeness to them. I flew over the pyramids when I was on my way home from Kenya. I got the most magical view and next time I would love to see them from ground level.
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@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
29 Dec 07
Have yet to travel to anywhere outside the US. Looking forward to seeing these if I ever do.
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@AD11RGUY (1265)
• United States
29 Dec 07
This sounds kinda retarded. Reproduction of the pyramids and the Sphinx. Ok. Is that for 1:1 scale reproductions or all scales? If a pyramid is made without the weathering damage that the originals have, is it still a reproduction? And if it is, shouldn't Egypt pay the reproducer for removing the flaws in said reproduction? What if the reproduction is actually of a Mayan Pyramid? Do the Mayan descendants get any royalties so that they can pay Egypt royalties for their ancestors having built their pyramids after the Egyptians built theirs? For the answers to these questions and more, tune in to the next episode of SOAP. I really need more idle time on my hands...
2 people like this
• India
29 Dec 07
Thats not a bad Idea at all. Infact, I believe India(I am an Indian) should copyright the Great 'Taj Mahal' & monuments like 'Kutub Minar'.. its quite practical. This is a materialistic world & everything has a price attached to it.
• United States
29 Dec 07
Egyptian law wouldn't be enforceable in the United States. I don't understand what the point of doing such a thing would be because they don't specifically "own" the things. They've been in existence longer than the government has. Can I ask where you heard that they were doing this from? Because it just doesn't make any sense. They can't pass a law in their country and expect other nations to abide by or enforce their laws. Even if they did, there is such a thing as a "grandfather clause" which would, to a certain degree, protect things that predate the existence of such a law. Either way, I think it's got to be bogus. How can a Government take such an idiotic stance on something so silly? Next thing you know the Vatican is going to try to copyright images of Jesus.
1 person likes this
@morgandrake (2136)
• United States
29 Dec 07
First off, the term "copyright" is not the correct term. Copyrights apply to poetry, writing and music. This would be more of a trademark than a copyright. And there is no way that international law is going to enforce it. And if it is enforced, people will just quit building exact reproductions, nothing more. I wish them luck with their silly tax. Obvivuosly, they are short on money to even consider this one.
1 person likes this
• United States
1 Jan 08
It seems very .. strange. Would Egypt then be able to use the Eiffel Tower of the Statue of Liberty in a movie without paying royalties to their home countries? I think this is a stupid idea.
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@irishidid (8687)
• United States
28 Dec 07
My guess is they heard about Rowlings law suits against buildings that kind of look like Hogwarts. LOL
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