/ OMAR ATABANY
What "freedom of panorama" means for scanning public monuments in Egypt
Egyptian law doesn't give Commons a clean freedom-of-panorama exemption. What that restricts, and what it doesn't.
Wikimedia Commons treats Egypt as lacking freedom of panorama suitable for its freely reusable uploads. Its Egypt copyright guidance explains this as an interpretation of the personal-use provision, rather than a general permission to publish images of protected public art or architecture.
For ArchaeoArchive, copyright status, permission to enter or photograph a site, and permission to publish a particular capture are separate questions. The age of a monument alone does not document all of those permissions. A reference to Commons is not legal clearance for a capture or upload.
Release decisions require checking the specific work and file, the applicable rights and the access arrangements. Where the evidence is incomplete, the project should record the gap rather than infer clearance.
Editorial correction, 14 October 2026: removed blanket assurances that ancient or medieval subjects require no further rights checks and that a brief date lookup establishes permission. This note describes the project’s workflow and Commons’ guidance, not legal advice.