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In reply to the discussion: NSA, Homeland Security issue ‘cease and desist’ letters to novelty store owner [View all]jberryhill
(62,444 posts)There is another statute that addresses the use of official seals.
18 USC § 506 - Seals of departments or agencies
(a) Whoever
(1) falsely makes, forges, counterfeits, mutilates, or alters the seal of any department or agency of the United States, or any facsimile thereof;
(2) knowingly uses, affixes, or impresses any such fraudulently made, forged, counterfeited, mutilated, or altered seal or facsimile thereof to or upon any certificate, instrument, commission, document, or paper of any description; or
(3) with fraudulent intent, possesses, sells, offers for sale, furnishes, offers to furnish, gives away, offers to give away, transports, offers to transport, imports, or offers to import any such seal or facsimile thereof, knowing the same to have been so falsely made, forged, counterfeited, mutilated, or altered,
shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
Your citation to the copyright statute is neither here nor there. There is no copyright in US government works, and highlighting the fact that the US government can own private copyrights assigned to it has nothing to do with agency seals.