[Wikipedia-l] some questions concerning copyright

[elian]

Hello,

Maybe someone can answer these questions which came up on the German
wikipedia recently.

Someone wanted to place the emblem (coat of arms or whatever the correct
english term is) of a city to the article about it and was unsure if this
is legal. In Germany there are laws about "Hoheitszeichen" like flags,
emblems, which restrict the right to use them.

How is the legal situation? I suppose wikipedia is in the sphere of
american law. If it's legal, do we have to redraw the emblems ourselves or
can we take the "official" images?

Next question: what's the exact date before which works are copyright
free in the U.S.? Does US-law apply for German books, scanned in Germany
and put on a server in the US or do we have to ensure that they are
copyright free in both countries? German law is "70 years after the death
of the author".  

greetings,
elian 
PS: I heard something about a lawsuit Eldrigde vs. Ashcroft at the
Supreme Court - will Mickey Mouse law finally be abolished?