South African Arms?

[Mike_Oettle]

Ken, it seems as if the enthusiasm of your patriotism has carried you away somewhat.
The key difference between the US armorial registries and those of Germany is that those in the US have no official standing whatever. The Heraldikvereinen of Germany are not in themselves official bodies, but they function in terms of federal law.
This arises out of the mediæval system that pertained in German territories east of the Rhine where heraldry was controlled (with certain exceptions) by regional associations rather than by the local rulers.
Had I been a US citizen I would certainly have chosen to register my arms through one of these associations because of this status.
However, being a South African citizen I found it worthwhile to register in Pretoria.
As I have often stated, there is no obligation on a citizen of any other country to register with the Bureau of Heraldry, but it is nonetheless worthwhile to have one’s arms on a recognised public register.
A further reason to prefer registration either in South Africa or in a European country is that in this country and in many European states there is a definite legal structure within which coat-armour is borne.
In Germany, as I have said, this is in the hands of officially recognised private associations.
In France, where there is no central register, there is nonetheless an ancient right to retain the arms one bears and to sue in the civil courts when there is an infringement. In that country new arms are made official through being lodged with a notary public. This does mean that it is extremely difficult to keep track of new assumptions of arms, but notarial acknowledgement is recognised by the courts.
In the US this kind of protection of ownership is not possible, unless one regards a coat of arms as a trade mark and registers it accordingly. However, since the trade mark office(s) do not operate in terms of armorial practice, this gives no practical support to armigers, and permits the registration of highly irregular symbols and emblems.
Regards,
Mike

[SlackerDrummer]

In the US this kind of protection of ownership is not possible, unless one regards a coat of arms as a trade mark and registers it accordingly. However, since the trade mark office(s) do not operate in terms of armorial practice, this gives no practical support to armigers, and permits the registration of highly irregular symbols and emblems.

Meaning that a foreign grant/registration is no more meaningful (legally) than any other type of registration. What even a private, unofficial registration does here in the United States is set a date certain for use. And since that would be the determining factor in determining usurpation (read identity theft) it is as sufficient as anything else going.

[Mike_Oettle]

Granted, Ken, it will give “date certain”, as you say, but since there are a number of US registries there is still the possibility that two registries will register the same arms to different individuals.
What safeguards are in place to avert this?
Regards,
Mike

[SlackerDrummer]

Granted, Ken, it will give “date certain”, as you say, but since there are a number of US registries there is still the possibility that two registries will register the same arms to different individuals.
What safeguards are in place to avert this?

None whatsoever. I'm not sure what that has to do with the validity of foreign registration over private registration.

[Mike_Oettle]

Ken, the issue is that while arms are often duplicated from one European country to another, there are safeguards to ensure that there is uniqueness within a given country.
With the US having such a plethora of private registries, no guarantee of uniqueness can be given. Surely it is time for these various registries to band together and form a single national registry?
It certainly appears as if there is no enthusiasm for the idea of a federal registry.
Regards,
Mike

[SlackerDrummer]

It certainly appears as if there is no enthusiasm for the idea of a federal registry.

From neither those well versed in the art and science of heraldry nor those utterly ignorant.

And my name is Kenneth. Thanks.