Is it Illegal to Photograph the Eiffel Tower at Night?
Photographing the Eiffel Tower
While many readers are familiar with U.S. copyright law, copyright rules in the European Union can be far less intuitive, especially when it comes to photographing famous landmarks. One particularly surprising example involves “freedom of panorama,” a doctrine that allows people to photograph buildings in public spaces. Unlike many countries that broadly permit this practice, the European Union allows member states to opt out, resulting in unexpected copyright restrictions on some of Europe’s most iconic structures.
Why the Eiffel Tower Is (Mostly) in the Public Domain — Under EU copyright law, works are generally protected for the life of the creator plus seventy years. Because the Eiffel Tower was completed in the 1920s, the structure itself has entered the public domain. This is why replicas of the Eiffel Tower, such as the one in Las Vegas, can be legally constructed and photographed without restriction.
Why Photographing the Eiffel Tower at Night Is Restricted — The Eiffel Tower’s nighttime lighting is a separate copyrighted work, installed in 1985 and still protected today. While casual tourist photography is usually tolerated, publishing or commercially disseminating images of the illuminated tower without permission requires authorization from the tower’s operating company, Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel.
Broader Limits on Photography Across France and the EU — Because France opted out of freedom of panorama, similar restrictions apply to other landmarks, including the European Parliament building in Strasbourg. Copyright owners, such as architectural bureaus, have actively enforced these rights, even preventing platforms like Wikipedia from publishing photographs without consent. Attempts by the EU to harmonize these rules have largely failed, leaving a patchwork of country-specific laws.
For more information, see our blog post Is it Legal to Photograph the Eiffel Tower at Night?
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