South Carolina Code 39-15-1110. Registration of distinguishing mark for goods or services; exceptions
(1) consists of or includes immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 39-15-1110
- Applicant: means the person filing an application for registration of a mark under this article and the legal representatives, successors, or assigns of that person. See South Carolina Code 39-15-1105
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Mark: includes a trademark or service mark entitled to registration under this article whether registered or not. See South Carolina Code 39-15-1105
- Secretary: means the Secretary of State or the designee of the secretary charged with the administration of this article. See South Carolina Code 39-15-1105
- Trade name: means a name used by a person to identify a business or vocation of that person. See South Carolina Code 39-15-1105
- Use: means the bona fide use of a mark in the ordinary course of trade and not made merely to reserve a right in a mark. See South Carolina Code 39-15-1105
(2) consists of or includes matter which may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with or bring into contempt or disrepute a person, living or dead, an institution, belief, or national symbol;
(3) consists of or includes the flag or 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 other insignia of any of these;
(4) consists of or includes the name, signature, or portrait identifying a particular living individual, except by the individual’s written consent;
(5) consists of a mark which:
(a) when used on or in connection with the goods or services of the applicant is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them;
(b) when used on or in connection with the goods or services of the applicant is primarily geographically descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of them; or
(c) is primarily merely a proper name or surname;
(6) consists of or includes a mark which so resembles a mark registered in this State or a mark or trade name previously used by another person in this State 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.
(B) However, nothing in subsection (A)(5) prevents the registration of a mark used by the applicant which 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, by proof of continuous use as a mark by the applicant in this State for the five years before the date on which the claim of distinctiveness is made.