I thought Disney was being abusive for trying to extend the copyright act every time Mickey has a birthday, but Egypt is about to one up Walt in an obscene way. Egypt is about to pass a law that would perpetually, retroactively, copyright works of antiquity including the Pyramids and artifacts in museums. This is not the purpose of copyright. Copyright theoretically encourages creation and add to the commons long term; this is a tax on culture.

Although the Egyptian government is claiming that the law will have international scope it does not seem likely. None of the international agreements on copyright recognize this this new type of copywrong yet. I am curious how they will try to enforce this tax.

Related press:

Boing Boing
Read more at the BBC:
“Egypt’s MPs are expected to pass a law requiring royalties be paid whenever copies are made of museum pieces or ancient monuments such as the pyramids.”