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Trademark Act §1052 Unregistrable Trademarks

• §1052(a),(b),(c),(d) & (e) prohibit registration of a trademark in cases where:
  • The mark is immoral, deceptive, scandalous, disparaging or identifies a place other than the place of origin for wine or spirits. (a)
  • The mark compromises flags, insignias etc. of governmental entities. (b)
  • The mark is a name, portrait or signature of a living person or, during his widow's lifetime, a portrait of a deceased President. (c)
  • The mark is confusingly similar to a registered mark. (d)
  • The mark is merely descriptive, deceptively misdescriptive, primarily geographically descriptive, geographically deceptively misdescriptive, a surname or, as a whole, is functional. (e)
    
• §1052(d) authorizes concurrent registration of identical or similar marks by the Director of Patents and Trademarks or upon court order.
• Subject to §1052(a)-(c), any marks which have become distinctive (i.e., have gained secondary meaning) are registrable.
  • §1063 opposition is the appropriate means to deny registration for marks which would cause dilution under §1125(c).

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