Egyptian Artefacts to be Copyrighted

Egyptian politicians are calling for a law requiring all those who copy museum pieces and artefacts to pay royalties. This would also include monuments such as the pyramids and the sphynx.

The law will apply in all countries and the money generated will be used to maintain thousands of pharaonic sites.

It will not just be replicas intended for commercial use that are targeted but those for private use as well. Permission will have to be granted by the Egyptian goverment although artists will not be stopped from reproducing monuments as long as they are not exact replicas.

This announcement came two days after an Egyptian newspaper called on the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas to pay a share of its profits to Egypt as the hotel is modelled on a pyramid.