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) comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter; or
     (b) comprises matter which 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; or
     (c) 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 thereof; or
     (d) comprises the name, signature, or portrait of any living individual, except with his written consent; or
     (e) comprises a mark that:
     (i) when applied to the goods or services of the applicant, is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them;
     (ii) when applied to 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) 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) However, nothing in subsection (1)(e) prevents the registration of a mark used in this state by the applicant which 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 applied to the applicant's goods or services, proof of continuous use thereof as a mark by the applicant in this state or elsewhere for the 5 years immediately preceding the date of the filing of the application for registration.

     History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 429, L. 1979.