Sabam answered that this year is an exception, and people can publish the images, as long it's in a non commercial way.
Now i wonder, who ever paid this building, and who owned it then (and now). I mean, if this building is paid by taxes, i should think that the belgian state owns this building and all it's plans, and that the architect made it as an employee of the same state, and has no right to put a copyright on plans made for his employer. Can anyone help me sort this out?
links (dutch):
Stad Mechelen start guerilla tegen copyright op Atomium
Sabam in het nauw
Dure bollen
Warning on Wikimedia Commons: "Do not upload images of the Atomium in Brussels. This building is copyrighted artwork. Nobody is allowed distributing his own photos of the Atomium without the consent of the copyright holders in Belgium and other countries without the Freedom of Panorama. So all Atomium images will get deleted in Commons on sight. Thank you for your cooperation."
Freedom of Panorama??? wtf! ...
Even for the commemorative coin, the National Bank of Belgium had to pay Sabam:
40 years ago in 1968: Pink Floyd @ the Atomium: