Hugh Whitney wrote recently:::: << With regards to who has the "right" to use such shields, I would presume that the only legal protection of heraldic symbols would exist in Britain. In North America my guess would be that anyone could use them unless protected otherwise by some copyright or trade mark legislation.>> Probably, yes, this is true, but then I wonder why anyone would want to use a personal symbol of someone else? I belong to a re-enactment group. At one point, we were trying to come up with a symbol for our first aid people so that everyone would be able to recognize the first aiders. We thought a simple red cross on white background, which seems to be a 'universal' red cross/first aid sign would be appropriate, but it seems that it's the International Red Cross didn't want us to use it. Go figure. Then we thought of the reverse, a white cross on a red field. Wrong again, as Switzerland had something to say about that. They symbols that we, in America, might think are just cool and ok to use, might infringe on others rights ....... and why would we...as this comes back to...use something that isn't rightfully ours? That is my opinion..and I'm sure others have theirs. Just remember that if you do go outside the states, you might think before showing any symbols you so freely use. As a case in point, a friend in our group happened to be wearing his favorite jacket, with a shield he thought he created. On his trip to Europe, someone stopped him to ask about the shield....and behold...the rightful user was standing in front of him. It worked out, and my friend was given permission by this person to use the shield...but it might not always work out that way. Joy