Egypt set to pass copyright law to protect its antiquities

London, Dec 26: The Egyptian Government is planning to pass a copyright law by which royalties would have to be paid for copies of museum pieces or ancient monuments, such as the Pyramids.

According to Zahi Hawass, who chairs Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, the money would be used to maintain thousands of pharaonic sites in Egypt.

A report in BBC News states that the new law would apply to full-scale replicas of any object in any museum in Egypt, and would help to thwart commercial use of ancient monuments like the pyramids or the Sphinx.

It will also deal a blow to themed resorts across the world where large-scale copies of Egyptian artifacts are a crowd-puller.

"Even if it is for private use, they must have permission from the Egyptian government," Hawass told BBC News. “But the law would not stop local and international artists reproducing monuments as long as they are not exact replicas," he added.

One example of a building that mimics Egyptian monuments is the Las Vegas' Luxor complex in the US city of Las Vegas, which is shaped like a pyramid.

The new copyright law would not affect this hotel, as it is not an exact copy of a pyramid and its interior is also completely different.

“But, claims by the hotel that it was the only pyramid-shaped building in the world could no longer be made," said Hawass.

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