I think a good question to post to this thread is, you have to ask yourself if you believe that a clan's tartan belongs to a family or not. I think if you believe that a clan "owns" a specific tartan, then I would probably think that you believe that a Coat of Arms belongs to a person or family.

If you believe that no family technically "owns" a tartan, and anyone can wear whatever tartan they want, then I would think that you can use what ever Coat Of Arms you want.

The truth is that heraldry is something very real, and can be attributed to a person identity. Most kings of both the medieval and modern eras had a coat of arms that belonged to them.

Even as far back as the Ancient Roman Legions, they had signifiers that were specific to their legions and cohorts.

Irish counties each have a different coat of arms that they use. I would like to find out who all these people are "registering" their coat of arms with, and I would personally purchase from them. Most of these online companies are probably fake, and just trying to make a buck, but I'm sure there is a real place somewhere.

I would like to get my family's coat of arms tatooed on me, but I would obviously like to make sure that the COA that i'm getting is accurate and not some website's twist of it so that they can sell it.

Anyways, I've babbled on long enough.