30-13-303. Registrability. - Montana Statutes

     30-13-303. Registrability. (1) A mark by which the goods or services of any applicant for registration may be distinguished from the goods or services of others may not be registered if it:
     (a) consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter;
     (b) consists of or comprises matter that may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, or institutions, beliefs, or national symbols or bring them into contempt or disrepute;
     (c) consists of or comprises the flag or coat of arms or other insignia of the United States, of any state or municipality, or of any foreign nation or any simulation of the flag or coat of arms of any of the enumerated entities;
     (d) consists of or comprises the name, signature, or portrait of any living individual, except with the individual's written consent;
     (e) consists of a mark that:
     (i) when used on or in connection with the goods or services of the applicant, is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them;
     (ii) when used on or in connection with the goods or services of the applicant, is primarily geographically descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them; or
     (iii) is primarily merely a surname; or
     (f) consists of or comprises a mark that so resembles a mark registered in this state or a mark or trade name previously used in this state by another and not abandoned as to be likely, when applied to the goods or services of the applicant, to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive.
     (2) Subsection (1)(e) does not prevent the registration of a mark used in this state by the applicant that has become distinctive of the applicant's goods or services. The secretary of state may accept as evidence that the mark has become distinctive, as used on or in connection with the applicant's goods or services, proof of continuous use of the mark or service mark as a mark by the applicant in this state or elsewhere for the 5 years before the date on which the claim of distinctiveness is made.

     History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 429, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 257, L. 2003.