Section 1-404 - Registration authorized. - Maryland Statutes

§ 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.]