Terms & Conditions
1. Terms:
By accessing this website (americanarmigers.us), you are agreeing to be bound by the following Terms and Conditions of Use, all applicable laws and regulations, and you agree that you as the user are responsible for compliance with any applicable local laws. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this website. The materials contained in this website are protected by applicable copyright and trademark law where applicable.
2. User License:
Permission is granted to temporarily download one copy of materials (information) from the Society of American Armigers website for personal, non-commercial transitory viewing via your web browser. This is the grant of license, not a transfer of title, and under this license, you may not:
2.1. Modify or copy the materials (with the exception of your own armorial listing);
2.2. Use the materials for any commercial purpose, or any public display (commercial or non-commercial) without written consent;
2.3. Attempt to decompile, hack or reverse engineer any software contained on the Society of American Armigers web site;
2.4. Remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the materials; or
2.5. Transfer the materials to another person or "mirror" the materials on any other server.
This grant of license shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions and may be terminated by the Society of American Armigers at any time. Upon terminating your viewing of these materials or upon the termination of this license, you must destroy any downloaded materials in your possession whether in electronic or printed format. The nature of this website is to display /registered personal property/ in the form of armorial bearings. Personal property laws are invoked, and usurping arms is a form of stealing personal property.
3. Disclaimer:
The materials on the Society of American Armigers web site are provided "as-is." We make no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaim and negate all other warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights. Further, the Society of American Armigers does not warrant or make any representations concerning the accuracy, likely results, or reliability of the use of the materials on this website or otherwise relating to such materials or on any sites linked to or from this site.
4. Limitations:
In no event shall the Society of American Armigers or its associates or suppliers be liable for any damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of data or profit, or due to business interruption,) arising out of the use or inability to use the materials on the Society of American Armigers website, even if we or our authorized representative has been notified orally or in writing of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on implied warranties, or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental damages, these limitations may not apply to you.
5. Revisions and Errata:
The materials appearing on the Society of American Armigers website may include historical, technical, typographical, photographic, or graphical errors. The Society of American Armigers does not legally warrant that any of the materials on its website are accurate, complete, or current although we make every attempt at accuracy. The Society of American Armigers may make changes to the materials contained on this website at any time without notice. The Society of American Armigers does not, however, make any legal commitment to update the materials.
6. Links:
The Society of American Armigers has not reviewed all of the content of any sites linked from its website and is not responsible for the contents of any such linked site. The inclusion of any link does not necessarily imply endorsement by the Society of American Armigers of said site. Use of any such linked website is at the user's own risk.
7. User-Submitted Information:
User-Submitted Information & Arms As a starting point for our American Armigers, we refer you to the "Guidelines for Heraldic Practice in the United States Recommended by the American Heraldry Society" for more detailed information, as the Society of American Armigers subscribes to these guidelines.
7.1. Arms as the User's (Member's) Legal Property:
As expressed in our registration terms, data submitted by the user for registration as a member, and the registration of blazons or emblazonments is expected to be the correct and heraldically legal property of the user. The user is expected to use their legal name as a citizen of the country in which they reside (i.e., no fictional names may be used). Any orders, honors being displayed are also the responsibility of the armiger (see § 7.5. below) The Society of American Armigers makes no warranties, expressed or implied, and hereby disclaims and negates all other warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties or conditions, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property or other violation of rights. It is the user's responsibility to assure that intellectual property rights, inheritance laws, and heraldic traditions have not been violated in any way by their use of the submitted arms. The Society of American Armigers makes no warranty that by registering one's arms, they are protected in any legal sense.
It will be the aim of this Society to ensure that all armorial bearings published within the Society of American Armigers Armorial are genuine, and the persons whose names are included therein will be expected to certify that the information they have furnished is true in *every* respect. Where an armiger uses assumed arms he will be expected to satisfy the register that prior to their assumption every effort was made to ensure that the blazon could not be mistaken for any other coat of arms already in use by another person, body, or corporation. If, however, the Society should discover, that any record may not conform to these conditions, the relevant entry may be deleted from the register until the point at issue has been resolved.
7.2. Surname or Family Arms:
The Society does not accept commercially available "surname" or "family" coats of arms typically found in genealogical forums, search engines, or sold by unscrupulous vendors. Basically, Lord Lyon, the College of Arms, the Chief Herald of Ireland, and the Canadian Heraldic Authority all agree that strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a 'family coat of arms'. A grant of arms is made to an individual and may extend to his or her descendants, but not to a family surname.
7.3. Granted, Matriculation or Properly Inherited Arms:
Where the applicant has matriculated or granted arms they wish to register and uses a title or titles or their armorial bearings feature additaments such as awards and medals, ecclesiastical hats or supporters, and coronets of rank the applicant will be expected to assure the society that they are genuinely entitled to them and that the awards and titles themselves stem from genuine authorities.
7.4. American Armigers and the idea of Nobility:
For American Armigers, our Society accepts only blazons and emblazonments of basic achievements for assumed arms: shield, crest, motto, and badge. The Society does not accept blazons or emblazonments of personal assumed arms which describe supporters, mantles, robes of estate, or helm and crown configurations that are emblematic of nobility or any other status inconsistent with the American Principles of Equality. There is no objection to the use of supporters in the arms of states, counties, cities, and other governmental entities, major educational institutions, and other corporate bodies of national, religious or historic stature.
As similarly defined by the Armorial Register - International Register of Arms, the Society of American Armigers is of the view that it is inappropriate for a person who has purchased what purports to be a souvenir plot of land in Scotland or Ireland amounting to little more than a novelty certificate to call himself (or be referred to by others) as 'Laird' or 'Lord'. This applies to the female equivalents. Where a person has changed their first name to any form of the name which might be mistaken for a title, The Society will ensure that for clarity the first name is highlighted as being nothing more than a first name and is not a title.
Titles of Nobility from micronations are not recognized by the Society and arms for micronations or micronation organizations will not be registered. Micronations are defined by the Oxford dictionary as "a small area or political entity that claims national sovereignty but is not recognized by other sovereign states." They have also been described as nations that sometimes "exist only on paper, on the internet or in the minds of their creators." That being said, individuals who have assumed arms and are members of a micronation may register their personal arms if the arms themselves are within the guidelines set in the "Guidelines for Heraldic Practice in the United States Recommended by the American Heraldry Society", and are registered to a real individual with a real physical address.
7.5. Orders and Honors:
Some of our Armigers would prefer to display Orders of Chivalry from Legitimate Military, Monastic, Monarchical or Honorific Orders and/or Honors from de jure Non-reigning Sovereigns and Royal Families that have been awarded to them. The Society will require proof of award, such as the Brevet received. We will use all available resources to verify the legitimacy of the fons-honorum. That being said, refer to § 7.1. & § 7.4 above. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the armiger to assure that the information provided is correct, legitimate and legal, and does not imply the status of nobility (American Citizens).
NOTE: Society of American Armigers does NOT make judgments regarding the authenticity or legitimacy of the Orders and Honors to be listed nor of the awarding organization. Whether Royal, Dynastic or Fraternal, it is up to the Arminger to determine the legitimacy of the honor and the organization that makes the award. That being said, the Society of American Armigers reserves the right to limit the recording of information provided by the Arminger under each registration.
7.6. International Armigers:
Although our Society occasionally accepts registration requests from armigers outside of the United States, our focus is American Armigers. International registrations will have their own section in our registry as a courtesy to those who wish to display their arms to the Society.
7.7. Future Physical Publications:
By agreeing to these terms and conditions, it is assumed that you also agree to allow the Society of American Armigers to publish your arms and information in a hardbound book: Register of The Society of American Armigers. If you do NOT want your information published, please contact us and inform us of your decision. We will make certain that your information is NOT published in physical form.
7.8. The Right to Remove Registry Entries:
The Society of American Armigers reserves the right to remove entries that do not comply with these Terms and Conditions of Use. The Society of American Armigers will not knowingly register arms for fictitious persons or groups, or entries that are deemed inappropriate in any way. If it has been deemed that one of our entries was inadvertently accepted and is recognized as fictitious, spurious, inappropriate, or in any other way non-compliant with these stated conditions, the entry will be deleted and the fee associated with registration will not be refunded.
8. Site Terms of Use Modifications:
The Society of American Armigers may revise these terms of use for its website at any time without notice. By using this website you are agreeing to be bound by the then current version of these Terms and Conditions of Use.
9. Governing Law:
Any claim relating to the Society of American Armigers website shall be governed by the laws of the State of Texas without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
10. Privacy Policy:
Your privacy is very important to us. Accordingly, we have developed this Policy in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate and disclose and make use of personal information.
The following outlines our privacy policy:
10.1. Before or at the time of collecting personal information, we will identify the purposes for which the information is being collected.
10.2. We will collect and use personal information solely with the objective of fulfilling those purposes specified by us and for other compatible purposes, unless we obtain the consent of the individual concerned or as required by law.
10.3. We will only retain personal information as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
10.4. We will collect personal information by lawful and fair means and, where appropriate, with the knowledge or consent of the individual concerned.
10.5. Personal data should be relevant to the purposes for which it is to be used, and, to the extent necessary for those purposes, should be accurate, complete, lawful, and up-to-date.
10.6. We will protect personal information by reasonable security safeguards against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.
10.7. We will make readily available to our members, information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
10.8. We are committed to conducting our business in accordance with these principles in order to ensure that the confidentiality of personal information is protected and maintained. We will never sell or give your information to others without your expressed agreement.