PART III. 
TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS



 



Note



 



  Part III designated by L 2008, c 108, §4.



 



§482-21 
Registrability.  A mark by which the goods
or services of any applicant for registration may be distinguished from the
goods or services of others shall not be registered if it:



(1)  Consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or
scandalous matter;



(2)  Consists of or
comprises matter which may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with
persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring
them into contempt, or disrepute;



(3)  Consists of or comprises the flag or coat of arms
or other insignia of the United States, or of any state or municipality, or of
any foreign nation, or any simulation thereof;



(4)  Consists of or comprises the name, signature, or
portrait identifying a particular living individual, except by the individual's
written consent;



(5)  Consists of a mark
that:



(A)  When used on or in connection with the
goods or services of the applicant, is merely descriptive or deceptively
misdescriptive of them;



(B)  When used on or
in connection with the goods or services of the applicant is primarily
geographically descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them; or



(C)  Is primarily a
surname;



provided that nothing in this paragraph shall
prevent the registration of a mark used by the applicant which has become
distinctive of the applicant's goods or services. The
director 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 thereof as a mark by the applicant in this State for the five years before
the date on which the claim of distinctiveness is made;



(6)  Consists of a mark which so resembles a mark
registered in this State or a mark or trade name previously used by another and
not abandoned, as to be likely, when used on or in connection with the goods or
services of the applicant, to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive; or



(7)  Consists of a mark that is substantially
identical with any registered trade name or the name of any entity registered
or authorized to transact business in accordance with the laws of this State.
[L 2001, c 15, pt of §1; am L 2003, c 124, §92; am L 2008, c 108, §12]