All rights reserved. Tutankhamun
Photo: AP
Egypt trying to copyright monuments
A new Egyptian antiquities law seeks to prevent others from replicating articles connected to Egyptian heritage - including the pyramids - through legal copyright
Egypt might copyright its pharaonic antiquities, from the pyramids to scarab beetles, in an attempt to get paid from the sale of replicas, an official said Thursday.
It was unclear whether such a copyright would be recognized internationally.
Antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said it would apply only to exact replicas — including scale — meaning someone would have to build a full-size copy of the giant pyramids for it to violate the copyright.
"If you (want to) build an exact copy of the Great Pyramid we will stop you," Hawass told The Associated Press.
A registered trademark? The pyramids at Giza (Photo: AP)
The provision is part of a new draft antiquities law that Hawass before the Egyptian parliament. The bill would also mandate life imprisonment for antiquities smugglers, an attempt to crack down on theft of Egypt's heritage.
Under the law, anyone seeking to make an exact replica of a copyrighted pharaonic artifact would have to seek permission from and pay a fee to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities.
The draft bill comes amid recent complaints in Egyptian media about money being made by the pyramid-shaped Las Vegas Luxor casino.
But Hawass said that and other ancient Egyptian-themed parks and malls around the world would not be affected by the copyright law.
Egyptian lawyer Hossam Lutfi, an expert with the U.N.'s World Intellectual Property Organization, said the draft may be baffling since the authors of the works in question are long gone.
However, UNESCO and Lufti's organization are trying to develop the idea — which still has not won wide backing — that a nation has the right to defend how its folklore and heritage are used internationally.
Lawyer: Bill vague
Jeffrey P. Weingart, lawyer with New York-based Thelen Ried Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, said the scope of the new Egyptian draft bill is unclear "in terms what it seeks to prohibit and what exceptions apply.""It's also unclear how a novel law such as this one would play in terms of international copyright treaties, enforcement and subject matter," said Weingart, who has long dealt with copyright laws in the U.S.
Rules would also change for dozens of foreign archaeological missions excavating sites in Egypt, which in the past were allowed to take 10 percent of their finds out of the country.
"I canceled that. I feel it is an honor for any for expert just to work in Egypt ... not to take things outside," Hawass said.
