Egypt to Copyright Pyramids and Sphynx

empaler writes "We all know the usual pro-copyright arguments. Most of them hinge on the fact that the individual or company that has a copyright needs an incentive to make something that is copyrightable, and therefore ensure a revenue stream in a period after the copyright has been granted. In a never-surpassed move, Egypt is working on legislation to extend copyright well above 3000 years — they are going to start claiming royalties for using likenesses of the Sphynx and the Pyramids. It is still unclear whether the original intent of the Pyramids included 'making sure them bastards pay for a plastic copy in 3000 years' alongside 'securing a pathway to the heavens for the God King.' Speaking as a Greenlandic national, I want dibs on ice cubes." It sounds straight out of The Onion, but instead you can read another story on the BBC.

Take this Egypt!

[Slashdot Suxxors]

/_\
Can't stop me from making pyramids!

Eh?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ice cubes? We have prior art on that.

-- Canada

US Treasury is Effed

[longacre]

How much are the royalties going to be for each dollar bill in circulation?

Copyright extension in reverse...?

[Anonymous Coward]

What will they call it? The Sun God Bono Copyright Term Extension Act?

Fuck!

[Junior J. Junior III]

There goes my plans to get rich quickly by making copies of pyramids and sphinxes and selling them on the street for way lower than the original pyramid and sphinx.

They can choose to copyright...

[brxndxn]

..and the rest of us can choose to ignore their absurdity.

I want to make a point.. But.. how the fuck can I make an mp3 of the Sphinx?

Re:good idea, bad implementation

[Spy der Mann]

Regional designations. OK. So if it's egyptian, it's pyramids. If it's foreign, it's "squared-based volumes with triangular walls". Hey, it works for champagne and tequila :D

Re:So where does this leave the jews?

[Anonymous Coward]

They built them perhaps, but they didn't design them. Slave labour requires no contract and technically it could be considered as Volunteer labour. So arguing whether the jews should get a piece is redundant.

I am more interested in where this might leave Extraterrestrials.

Re:At least pay the royalties to the right person

[nospam007]

I'm sure they could put those royalties to good use in the afterlife.

You mean royalties to the Royalties, dead or alive..

Re:So where does this leave the jews?

[ScrewMaster]

I am more interested in where this might leave Extraterrestrials.

Yeah, right. Are you going to tell a Goa'uld mothership that it can't land because it would be violating your copyright?

This is...

[UnCivil Liberty]

a total pyramid scheme...

Re:Take this Egypt!

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a trapezoid, you geometrically challenged clod!

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[SailorSpork]

Oh come on, the pyramids on the dollar bill is obviously fair use: parody! I mean, look at the giant floating eyeball on top of it! I roll over with laughter every time I see that thing...

Criminal Charges

[DynaSoar]

The original owners were the pharaoh era royalty. The present government does not derive directly from the royal line. Therefore to claim ownership rights on property not rightfully theirs is to deprive the original owners of their ownership.

It's stealing. Lock the bastards up. Call the PIAA (Pyramid Industry Association of Assholes).

In other news,

[some old guy]

Vatican to copyright God, film at 11.

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[Ignis Flatus]

How much are the royalties going to be for each dollar bill in circulation?

that's a recursion problem, because we'll just print more dollars to pay the bill. so the limit of, um, lemme see if i can find my old calculus book...

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[The One and Only]

That was sublicensed from the Masons.

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[blind monkey 3]

Floating eyeball? They are in direct violation of my IP by using a likeness of my "third eye" (patent pending), are there any lawyers....

News Flash! Man trampled by ten thousand over excited lawyers. The lawyers were finally subdued whilst fighting over the man's bones (and wallet).

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[rubycodez]

That's the All-Seeing Eye of Ra, and you've really pissed Him off with your flippancy. No solar power for j00.

Re:Fuck!

[modecx]

Well, at any rate, the Luxor Hotel and Casio just might be getting a big bill here pretty soon. Wonder who's bill collectors are most ehm... dedicated?

Re:Take this Egypt!

[ShieldW0lf]

I think Canada should get a copyright on beavers.

Pay up, Mr. Flynt!

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[Samarian Hillbilly]

They are also suing Israel in international court for all the gold they took out of Egypt during the Exodus. Israel has yet to counter-sue for back wages for slave-labor on the pyramids. I guess this is part of a general strategy by the Egyptian government to insure their revenue stream w/o engaging in productive activity. They learned from SCM and Apple Core.

Re:It's Sphinx

[Antibozo]

[Note: this comment contains Unicode Greek characters, but they are not rendering in my browser for some reason. This takes a lot of the fun out of it. There are two Greek words in the next paragraph that you may be unable to see. Slashdot folks: bug?]

Fun fact: Sphinx is from Greek "", transliterated "sphiggo", pronounced "sphingo"—a verb meaning "to squeeze or throttle". "The Sphinx" literally means "The Throttler", which sounds like a villain from Batman. This same root figures prominently in another English word, the one derived from Greek "", transliterated "sphigktér".

One wonders if the Egyptians are perhaps taking this root meaning a little too literally.

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[Alsee]

No solar power for j00.

That'll tech us a lesson!

P.S.
Superman just mooned the All-Seeing Eye of Ra, please don't punish him with "No kryptonite for j00!"

-

Re:Firehose is weird

[Hognoxious]

Remember, it's not accuracy that gets you on Slashdot, it's the ability to distort and misinterpret a story so it will generate the most page views that counts.

Being called Roland Piquepaille helps too.

Re:SCO II

[Hognoxious]

Egypt and SCO have teamed up, and claim that Linux contains copyrighted ancient hieroglyphs.

I never knew it was written in perl!

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[Antique Geekmeister]

Hurray for the Sun God!
He is the One God!

Ra!! Ra!! Ra!!

Re:Take this Egypt!

[Flodis]

-- as long as they don't make exact copies.

Darn.

Anyone need 6000000 tons of giant stone blocks? Real cheap. Was to be used in pyramid project that never got off the ground.

Oblig. Police Squad

[sm62704]

"Nice beaver!"

"Thanks, I just had it stuffed"

Re:US Treasury is Effed

[poot_rootbeer]

That's the All-Seeing Eye of Ra, and you've really pissed Him off with your flippancy. No solar power for j00.

Being that it was Teh j00s that actually BUILT the pyramids, I think it's only fair that the copyright on them should revert into their hands.

Re:Just like any other desperate move

[Liquidrage]

Great list! The US is just so evil. Thank God you can still go to Russia and China. Those are nice places with no current wars and great human rights and freedoms.