Section 1-404 - Registration authorized.
§ 1-404. Registration authorized.
(a) In general.- If a person uses a mark in the State, the person may register the mark in accordance with this subtitle.
(b) Exceptions.- A person may not register a mark that:
(1) is deceptive, immoral, or scandalous;
(2) may disparage, falsely suggest a connection with, or bring into contempt or disrepute:
(i) a belief;
(ii) an individual, living or dead;
(iii) an institution; or
(iv) a national symbol;
(3) is, simulates, or includes a coat of arms, flag, or other insignia of a government;
(4) is or includes the name, portrait, or signature of a living individual, except with the written consent of the individual; or
(5) is likely, when applied to the goods or services of the person, to confuse or deceive because the mark resembles:
(i) another mark registered in the State; or
(ii) a mark or trade name that another person has used in the State and has not abandoned.
(c) Limited exception.-
(1) Unless the mark has become distinctive of the person's goods or services, a person may not register a mark that:
(i) only describes or deceptively misdescribes goods or services;
(ii) primarily describes or deceptively misdescribes the geographic origin of goods or services; or
(iii) is primarily merely a surname.
(2) As evidence that a mark has become distinctive of the goods or services of a person, the Secretary of State may accept proof that the person has used the mark as a mark in the State or elsewhere continuously for at least 5 years immediately before the day on which the person applies for registration.
(d) Registration of trade name prohibited.- A person may not register a trade name that is not a mark.
[An. Code 1957, art. 41, §§ 3-101, 3-102, 3-103; 1992, ch. 4, § 2.]