Egypt plans to "copyright antiquities" such as Sphinx, Pyramids

By Xeni Jardin at 9:17 pm Tuesday, Dec 25

Lawmakers in Egypt are expected to sign into law a requirement that royalties be paid whenever a copy is made of Egyptian antiquities such as the pyramids.

Zahi Hawass, who chairs Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told the BBC the law would apply in all countries. The money was needed to maintain thousands of pharaonic sites, he said.

Correspondents say the law will deal a blow to themed resorts across the world where large-scale copies of Egyptian artefacts are a crowd-puller. Mr Hawass said the law would apply to full-scale replicas of any object in any museum in Egypt.

Link (thanks, Robbo, and everyone else who suggested this!)