Are public monuments like the Elizabeth Tower and the Eiffel Tower copyrighted?
<p>Let's say I want to make a miniature replica of Big Ben and sell it online. Do I need any kind of permission for that? I'm assuming that given its age, Big Ben has to be public domain. But I'm not sure. I've tried contacting the British Parliament and other institutions related to Big Ben, but never got an answer.</p>

<p><em>I'm just going through high-level concepts with this answer, it's possible I miss a detail.</em></p>

<ul>
<li>Architectural works are indeed copyrightable works in accordance with <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works/Articles_1_to_21" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Berne Convention</a> Article 2(1).</li>
<li>Both Big Ben and Eiffel Tower are no longer under copyright due to their architects dying more than 70 years ago.</li>
<li>French moral rights do not expire (UK moral rights expire with the economic rights). Most relevant to this question are the rights to attribution and against derogatory/damaging/prejudicial treatment defined by Berne Convention Article 6<sup>bis</sup>(1).</li>
<li>Copyright law is on a per-country basis and under Berne Convention Articles 3 &amp; 4, foreign works are accorded equal rights to domestic works. French moral rights apply within France.</li>
</ul>

<p>Taken together, in the UK these architectural works are in the public domain. </p>

<p>In France, economic rights (copyright) have expired, but moral rights still exist. Miniature replicas should be fine, but be sure to include attribution.</p>

copyright