A row has broken out between Wikipedia and the FBI over the use of its seal.

In a letter sent to Wikipedia’s San Francisco office, the FBI said that “unauthorised reproduction of the FBI Seal was prohibited by US law”.

“Whoever possesses any insignia…or any colourable imitation thereof..shall be fined…or imprisoned… or both,” the FBI wrote.

However, Wikipedia denied that it had done anything wrong and said that FBI lawyers had “misquoted the law”.

The issue centred on the FBI’s Wikipedia entry which, in addition to information on the US bureau, also features an image of the “Seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation”. More>>