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Africa North
Egypt to copyright pyramids to the sphinx
2007-12-26
CAIRO - 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.

Zahi Hawass, the charismatic and controversial head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, told AFP on Tuesday that the move was necessary to pay for the upkeep of the country’s thousands of pharaonic sites. ‘The new law will completely prohibit the duplication of historic Egyptian monuments which the Supreme Council of Antiquities considers 100-percent copies,’ he said. ‘If the law is passed then it will be applied in all countries of the world so that we can protect our interests,’ Hawass said.
Posted by:Steve White

#16  Did Hawass release a version of his statement in the English language? If so, the British government should demand a percentage.
Posted by: Excalibur   2007-12-26 15:27  

#15  h'okay, could just take it out of the interest owed for moving those dam monuments away from de nile creek.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2007-12-26 14:28  

#14  Gruse the Slender8869, the angle is different, Zahi does not have da beef. You can't put an intellectual property clause on a basic geometrical shape. Period. Make a knotted pyramid and that would be a different story. But then, what woul be the use for it?

But Hawas apparently wants to shoot the golden goose. Greedy idiot.

Copts should sue, not for IP rights, but for a willful destruction of their heritage (dismantled casing of GP was used for building Cairo mosques).
Posted by: twobyfour   2007-12-26 13:06  

#13   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 donÂ’t make exact copies.Â’

Hmmm... I must've missed that when I read the Book of Exodus.
Posted by: mrp   2007-12-26 12:49  

#12  And we give them how many billion per year in aid? Ingrate(s)...
Posted by: Raj   2007-12-26 12:22  

#11  Gonna be hard collecting from the Aztecs, Incas, Mississippians, Poverty Point culture, and Hopewell/Adena. Independent development is, AFAICR, an absolute defense.

Now, if you want real justice, the Copts would sue the various mosques for damages.
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2007-12-26 12:20  

#10  Retro-active no doubt:

So that means every dollar bill should result in $.02 going to Egypt? Or does the eyeball at the top make it something different?
Posted by: Gruse the Slender8869   2007-12-26 11:57  

#9  Did somebody make a copy?
Posted by: mojo   2007-12-26 11:35  

#8  Good luck trying to enforce it.
Posted by: Mike   2007-12-26 09:27  

#7  NOT for life... NOT for heirs and descendants throughout the ages...

But for as long as Hollyweird, the MPAA and RIAA can keep bribing your Congresscritters. At which, they have been very successful.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2007-12-26 07:56  

#6  Perhaps this can trigger a return to the original intent of IP

"The Congress shall have Power ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

NOT for life... NOT for heirs and descendants throughout the ages...

Posted by: john frum   2007-12-26 07:32  

#5  This takes the concept of intellectual property to a ridiculous level.
Posted by: Slats Elmuns6921   2007-12-26 03:07  

#4  Pyramids belong to Egyptian Arabs because they've (in effect) exterminated the People who build them?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2007-12-26 02:24  

#3  There's a book waiting to be written about Mr. Zahi Hawass. I see his oily smile on all the many, many Egypt/pyramid/archaeology shows on Discovery/TLC et al.

He is also apparently the sole gatekeeper for all work and analysis of this generation of Egyptologists.

I'd like to know who his patrons are. He must have many friends in very high places.
Posted by: Seafarious   2007-12-26 02:12  

#2  Pyramid on every $bill since before Egypt's current constitution.

We have prior art.
Posted by: motorola   2007-12-26 01:11  

#1  Nuts.
Posted by: twobyfour   2007-12-26 00:06  

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