Family crests

[Graham47]

As a way of adding a bit of colour (and because I have a soft spot for them anyway)  in the absence of a photograph I put in a family crest at the head of each of my lines.

Like a tartan, I know that few of us can lay real claim to them but what has got me puzzled is that when looking them up, some sites have a large copyright letter C across them. How can this be - unless given the many design variations for the same name these guys are just making them up! Pannett for example has several variations.

My own here by the way is for the West Riding of Yorkshire... and no family claim to it that I'm aware of 

[stanmapstone]

Like a trademark, a coat of arms represents its owner and cannot be used for any purpose. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Coats_of_arms

Stan

[Graham47]

Maybe Stan, but many companies (and individuals) certainly are, along with mounted pictures, coffee cups and spoons - and very popular on American web sites of course

[stanmapstone]

According to the practice if not the theory of the law in recent centuries, any person in England may with impunity take to himself any armorial bearings he pleases, except the arms of Kingston-upon-Hull [The Times 26th October 1954] Apparently if you omit the crested helm and supporters you would not be liable to legal action.
However the High Court of Chivalry has had jurisdiction over cases of misuse of arms since the 14th century. It is a civil court, with the Earl Marshal as the sole judge from 1521. The most recent case was Manchester Corporation v Manchester Palace of Varieties (21st Dec.1954), when a theatre was successfully sued for illegal display of the arms belonging to the corporation.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

The position is different in Scotland.  The system of heraldry in Scotland is probably the most simple and well governed in the world. Since 1672, the Lord Lyon has had full legal control of all coats of arms. The willful use of a coat of arms not granted by the Lord Lyon can bring a jail sentence or fine today, just as it did 300 years ago. A Lyon Register that now fills some fifty volumes ensures that no person may legally use arms that have not been registered in his own name. Apparently ultimate the penalty for 'usurpation' in Scotland could be decapitation, or more likely a fine of £100 pounds a day

Stan

[behindthefrogs]

The straight answer to your question is that the commercial companies who try to sell you goods bearing these coats of arms want you to be able to see them without the ability to reproduce them.

It is extremely worrying that some of them try to sell you "a crest" when they are actually offering a shield taken from a coat of arms.  Unfortunately in the USA the word crest seems to be used for almost any part of a coat of arms.  There is a lot less of a problem with you using a crest if this is what you intend, as the same crest will be found in many coats of arms.

[davidbappleton]

Unfortunately in the USA the word crest seems to be used for almost any part of a coat of arms. 

This is not something that occurs only on the western side of the North Atlantic.  That venerable paper, The Times (of London), regularly uses the word "crest" when speaking of a coat of arms or even an achievement of arms (with helm, crest, mantling, and so on).

David

[Stephen J F Plowman]

Like a tartan, I know that few of us can lay real claim to them but what has got me puzzled is that when looking them up, some sites have a large copyright letter C across them. How can this be - unless given the many design variations for the same name these guys are just making them up! Pannett for example has several variations.

The copyright actually relates to the specific image itself.  If I produced my version of the Royal Arms I would retain the copyright for that piece of work but would, obviously, have no right to Arms themselves. 

As a bit of an heraldic anorak/pedant I have only used Arms in my genealogical work that my ancestors were entitled to use.

[Graham47]

If you are entitled to use the Arms of your ancestors that's a nice touch, but does entitlement to use pass down automatically?

Sorry if that sound pedantic as well, just interested.