1. (a) If a person uses a mark in the State, the person may register the mark in accordance with this subtitle.

2. (b) A person may not register a mark that:

   1. (1) is deceptive, immoral, or scandalous;

   2. (2) may disparage, falsely suggest a connection with, or bring into contempt or disrepute:

      1. (i) a belief;
      2. (ii) an individual, living or dead;
      3. (iii) an institution; or
      4. (iv) a national symbol;
   3. (3) is, simulates, or includes a coat of arms, flag, or other insignia of a government;
   4. (4) is or includes the name, portrait, or signature of a living individual, except with the written consent of the individual; or

   5. (5) is likely, when applied to the goods or services of the person, to confuse or deceive because the mark resembles:

      1. (i) another mark registered in the State; or
      2. (ii) a mark or trade name that another person has used in the State and has not abandoned.

3. (c)

   1. (1) Unless the mark has become distinctive of the person's goods or services, a person may not register a mark that:

      1. (i) only describes or deceptively misdescribes goods or services;
      2. (ii) primarily describes or deceptively misdescribes the geographic origin of goods or services; or
      3. (iii) is primarily an individual's name or surname.
   2. (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.
4. (d) A person may not register a trade name that is not a mark.

Added by Acts 1992, c. 4, § 2. Amended by Acts 2020, c. 501, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2020.

Formerly Art. 41, §§ 3-101, 3-102, 3-103.