Are the images of flags and coats of arms of states, regions, cities, etc. copyrighted or copyright free?
Accordingly to the international and local laws the national, regional, governmental and municipal flags, coats of arms, emblems, etc. itself are copyright free. However the vector and raster images are copyrighted by the artists who drew it (except the oficial images attached to the texts of laws that may be scanned and used free). Useful analogy: e.g., the photograph of the flag raising on White House was copyrighted by the photographer, even though the flag and everything else in the picture could not itself be subject to copyright. Similarly any drawing made of a flag is copyrighted to the person who drew it, even though the flag itself could not be copyrighted. Please note the usage of national, regional and local symbols is restricted in many countries and defined by local law for every coat of arms, flag or emblem separately. These restrictions are independent of the copyright status.
