If I want to create some 3D models of ancient Greek buildings such as the Parthenon and some ancient Italian buildings such as the Pantheon for a mobile app, do I need to get the permission or purchase a license from anyone?
Or are these ancient Greek and Italian buildings in the public domain?
Here is the wiki link to the Parthenon in Greece: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon
Here is the wiki link to the Pantheon in Rome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon%2C_Rome
Both Italy and Greece are EU members.
In EU countries, copyright protects your intellectual property until 70 years after your death or 70 years after the death of the last surviving author in the case of a work of joint authorship. Source.
The ancient buildings you mention are therefore out of copyright, and you are free to model or reproduce them in any way you wish.
However if you derive data for these models from a modern source, such as photographs on the Web, you might have to consider the copyright on those sources. That's a more complicated question. The EU Copyright Directive includes some carve-outs analogous to fair use, which your usage might fit under. For instance, if you amalgamate lots of on-line photos of these monuments in order to derive texture maps for your models then you could probably claim the data mining exception. You might also argue that the creative input of the photographers in choosing a point of view and framing the picture are lost, and the only data you are using is the uncreative content derived from the monument itself. But these may turn out to be novel legal arguments which would require a court in each country to settle for certain.
The Italian Cultural Heritage Code (Legislative Decree n. 42/2014) states that derivative works of "cultural heritage" material can only be used for commercial purposes with authorization by the cultural institution that holds the original material and payment of a fee (articles 107 and 108).
The Library of Congress has more about the decree.
The rationale is that this fee helps support open access to Italy's cultural heritage.
German toy manufacturer Ravensburger was successfully sued because they made a 1,000 piece puzzle of the Vitruvian Man drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. [ref 1] [ref 2]
No issue with copyright law but, unless you go and survey the structures yourself, any source material used (photos, videos, drawings, etc) may require license if it used in your completed project -- not in research or creating your own design. Say you do use someone else's photo in the finished product, it also depends on the nature of use to determine whether or not a license is required. i.e. Educational purposes vs profit
