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Intellectual property law is not my strong suit but I will nonetheless offer some points on the use of copyright to protect coats of arms in the U.S.A. The blazon (that is, the description) of the arms cannot be copyrighted while a specific artistic rendition of the arms can be copyrighted. For instance, Mr. P. creates an image of his arms and obtains the copyright to that image. Mr. D. creates a different image of the same coat of arms (that is, one with the same blazon but with a differing artistic rendition). Mr. P's rights have not been infringed by Mr. D, indeed Mr. D's rights to his particular rendition are as great as Mr. P's to his. Miss Q could create a third rendition of that armorial blazon and possess full rights to that particular image without infringing the rights of either Mr. P or Mr. D. The copyright laws of the U.S.A. offer protection and remedies for the usurpation of arms only to the extent of the unauthorized use of a specific rendition of the arms held by the copyright holder. Copyright does not extend to all possible artistic renditions of a specific blazon.
Best regards,
Thomas Pinkney Davis
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