Copyright on the Pyramids
In a potential blow to themed resorts from Las 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. This was reported earlier this month in The UK Telegraph, London. It was first reported by Agence France-Presse.
It quoted a good friend to all Australian archaeologists, Zahi Hawass, the charismatic and controversial head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. He said 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 per cent 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.” He said a ministerial committee had agreed on the law, which should be passed in the next parliamentary session. “It is Egypt’s right to be the only copyright owner for these monuments in order to benefit financially so we can restore, preserve and protect Egyptian monuments,” he said. He did not explain how Egypt intended to enforce the law and he explained the law would not forbid artists and designers from taking inspiration from Egyptian monuments “as long as they don’t make exact copies”. “Artists have the right to be inspired by everything that surrounds them, including monuments,” he said.
Asked about the effect on the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, Dr Hawass said that particular resort was “not an exact copy of pharaonic monuments despite the fact it’s in the shape of a pyramid”. Some Egyptians have been calling for the Las Vegas hotel to pay a slice of its profits to the city of Luxor.
What next? A world wide copyright ban on boomerangs and didgeridoos?
Rev The Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes, A.C., M.L.C.
