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California Law (Last Updated: March 4, 2014) |
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Business and Professions Code - BPC |
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Division 6. BUSINESS RIGHTS |
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Chapter 2. Model State Trademark Law |
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ARTICLE 2. Application for Registration |
Section 14205.
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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 meets any of the following criteria:
(a) It consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter.
(b) It consists of or comprises matter that may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt or disrepute.
(c) It consists of or comprises the flag or coat of arms or other insignia of the United States of America, of any state or municipality, or of any foreign nation, or any simulation thereof.
(d) It consists of or comprises the name, signature, or a portrait identifying a particular living individual, except by the individual's written consent.
(e) It consists of a mark that is any of the following:
(1) When used on or in connection with the goods or services of the applicant, is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them.
(2) When used on or in connection with the goods or services of the applicant, is primarily geographically descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them.
(3) Is primarily merely a surname, provided, however, that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the registration of a mark used by the applicant that has become distinctive of the applicant's goods or services. The secretary 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.
(f) It consists of or comprises a mark that 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.