The novelty item may or may not purport to confer additional benefits such as products based on the commonly held, but false, belief that all landholders in Scotland have the right to title themselves "Laird", "Lord, or "Lady".
The item or company selling them may claim to be legally granting ownership of the plot to the holder, but most explicitly refute this, sometimes in the fine print.
These companies have attracted controversy for the fact that they do not actually confer lands or titles legally to the holder, despite claims to the contrary in advertisements or on their websites.
(ii) a plot the ownership of which has, at any time, separately been constituted or transferred by a document recorded in the Register of Sasines.
In an interview with the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland, The Court of the Lord Lyon, the court in Scotland which regulates the award of heraldry (ie: titles and coats of arms), made the following statement concerning the legal implications of the purchase of souvenir plots: “Ownership of a souvenir plot of land does not bring with it the right to any description such as ‘laird’, ‘lord’ or ‘lady’.
“Ownership of a souvenir plot of land is not sufficient to bring a person otherwise ineligible within the jurisdiction of the Lord Lyon for seeking a coat of arms.”[11] [bold added]The Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland which was established in 1672, pursuant to the Lyon King of Arms Act 1672 (c 47), and lists all heraldry awarded in Scotland.
Heraldry is considered to be incorporeal property in Scots law, so is capable of having a right of ownership over the use and control of the heraldic coat of arms.
Under the 1672 Act, heraldry is awarded by grant by the Lord Lyon, who can grant heraldic coats of arms to human individuals of Scottish domicile or Scottish heritage, irrespective of nationality (excluding Canada as Canadian coats of arms are regulated by the Canadian Heraldic Authority).