The matter around the copy of Architecture is one of the current topics of our time. For many centuries, the imitation was a common act in the architecture field, as the past always was a source of inspiration and admiration and many architects were not hesitating to borrow and grasp the patterns and ideas of other architects and adapt their style. However, recently the imitation has been passed from the architectural borrow to the plagiarism. It now has a more undermining character and it is considered a dishonest, unethical and even illegal act. Even in the last decades, architecture has been inspired by the desire of projecting the innovation while in the mean time, architects’ work has to confront more and more the current circumstances and means that enhance the act of copying.

The aim of the presenting research is the study of the matter around the copy in the architectural field from the past up until now. It targets the investigation of the reasons behind the change of the idea of the imitation from a common act in the past to an dishonest one in the present. It mainly focuses on the legal and ethical limitations and the execution of the law for the protection of the architectural pieces by the implementation of the copyrights and their effect to the subject of copying. Apart from that, it proposes answers to some of the main questions around the reasons of the effort of the current copying trend in the architectural field, even though the need of the modern architects for constant innovative promotions.

In the scope of the research, the theoretical background is introduced while concepts around the topic of copying are analysed and explained. This is followed by a historical analysis and review that is mainly focused on the imitations and the modern cultural context of architecture based on circumstances and data of this field. The collection of the research components and their adaptation to a timeline lead to the extraction of various conclusions and the answer to certain posed questions.