It is an anonymous work or pseudonymous work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication (or creation, whatever date is the latest)
It is a collective, audiovisual or a work of applied art, and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication (or creation, whatever date is the latest)
It is a posthumous work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication
It is another kind of work, and 50 years have passed since the year of death of the author (or last-surviving author)
It is one of "laws, court judgments and other official instruments, as well as their official translations, coats of arms, decorations, currency marks and other official insignia"
The
composition
of coats of arms are generally
public domain
with respect to
copyright
laws, and may be reproduced freely.
This corresponds to the international traditional usage, and is explicitly stated in some national copyright laws. Some compositions, of more recent origin, may be copyrighted.
This is not a valid license as such, being a "public domain" statement for the coat of arms definition only. It must be completed with the copyright tag associated to the picture creation.
Please note that this applies only to the coat of arms
definition
(composition / description). The
representation
of a coat of arms is an artistic creation, subject as such to copyright laws.
Restriction of use - Legal notice:
Most of the time, the usage of coats of arms is
governed by legal restrictions
, independent of the status of the depiction shown here. A coat of arms represents its owner. Though it can be freely represented, it cannot be appropriated, or used in such a way as to create a confusion with or a prejudice to its owner.
Usage on Commons
:
Please provide licence information for the coat of arm representation, information for the author of the picture, and the source if not self-made work.
This image shows a
flag
, a
coat of arms
, a
seal
or some other official
insignia
. The use of such symbols is restricted in many countries. These restrictions are independent of the
copyright
status.