I know copyright as we think of today didn't really exist until the industrial revolution, but what I'm getting at is say there's a Duke with a coat of arms involving a lion and bow & arrow, and in a neighboring province a new family head assumed the title of Duke and their coat of arms is visually very similar to the other Duke's.
Was this an issue that needed to be addressed? Would the Dukes just ignore it? Come together to compromise on a look? Ask the king to weigh in on the matter?
When Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, he attempted to use the coat of arms of one Sir Bernard Drake. However, Sir Bernard objected to this, claiming that Francis was not related to his branch of the family and therefore not entitled to his arms, a disagreement that apparently came to blows. Queen Elizabeth solved the matter by granting Sir Francis Drake his own coat of arms.