(a) Matter that is immoral, deceptive or scandalous;
(b) Matter that may disparage, bring into contempt or disrepute or falsely suggest a connection with a person, living or dead, an institution, a belief or a national symbol;
(c) The flag, coat of arms or other insignia of the United States, a state or municipality or a foreign nation or a simulation of the flag, coat of arms or insignia;
(d) The name or signature of or a portrait that identifies a particular living individual, unless the individual has given written consent; or
(e) A mark that so resembles a mark registered in this state, or a mark or trade name previously used and not abandoned by another person, as to be likely to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive when used on or in connection with the applicant’s goods or services.
(2)(a) A mark may not be registered if the mark is:
(A) Merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of the applicant’s goods or services;
(B) Primarily geographically descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of the applicant’s goods or services; or
(C) Primarily merely a surname.
(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection do not prevent the Secretary of State from registering a mark used 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, when used on or in connection with the applicant’s goods or services, proof that the applicant has used the mark continuously in this state for five years before the date on which the applicant made the claim that the mark has become distinctive of the applicant’s goods or services. [1961 c.497 §2; 1965 c.511 §4; 1971 c.318 §3; 1985 c.728 §85; 2005 c.22 §450; 2009 c.459 §8]