File:Coat of arms of Ethiopia.svg

• It is an anonymous, pseudonymous or posthumous work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication
• It is a collective or audiovisual work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication
• It is a photographic work, and 25 years have passed since the date of its creation (or publication, whatever date is the latest)
• 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 "any official text of a legislative, administrative or of legal nature, as well as official translations thereof"

Per U.S. Circ. 38a., the following countries are not a participant in the Berne Convention or any other treaty on copyright with the United States:

• Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Seychelles, Somalia, Turkmenistan and Tuvalu.

As such, works published by citizens of these countries in these countries are usually not subject to copyright protection outside of these countries. Hence, such works may be in the public domain in most other countries worldwide.

However

• Works published in these countries by citizens or permanent residents of other countries that are signatories to the Berne Convention or any other treaty on copyright will still be protected in their home country and internationally as well as locally by local copyright law.
• Similarly, works published outside of these countries within 30 days of publication within these countries will also usually be subject to protection in the foreign country of publication. When works are subject to copyright outside of these countries, the term of such copyright protection may exceed the term of copyright inside them.
• Unpublished works from these countries may be fully copyrighted.

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.

See Commons:Coats of arms for further information.

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.