# Business Regulation (GBR)

## Title 1. Definitions; General Provisions

### Subtitle 4. Trademarks, Service Marks, and Trade Names

#### Section 1-404

(a) If a person uses a mark in the State, the person may register the mark in accordance with this subtitle.

(b) A person may not register a mark that:

  (1) is deceptive, immoral, or scandalous;

  (2) may disparage, falsely suggest a connection with, or bring into contempt or disrepute:

    (i) a belief;

    (ii) an individual, living or dead;

    (iii) an institution; or

    (iv) a national symbol;

  (3) is, simulates, or includes a coat of arms, flag, or other insignia of a government;

  (4) is or includes the name, portrait, or signature of a living individual, except with the written consent of the individual; or

  (5) is likely, when applied to the goods or services of the person, to confuse or deceive because the mark resembles:

    (i) another mark registered in the State; or

    (ii) a mark or trade name that another person has used in the State and has not abandoned.

(c)

  (1) Unless the mark has become distinctive of the person's goods or services, a person may not register a mark that:

    (i) only describes or deceptively misdescribes goods or services;

    (ii) primarily describes or deceptively misdescribes the geographic origin of goods or services; or

    (iii) is primarily an individual's name or surname.

  (2) As evidence that a mark has become distinctive of the goods or services of a person, the Secretary of State may accept proof that the person has used the mark as a mark in the State or elsewhere continuously for at least 5 years immediately before the day on which the person applies for registration.

(d) A person may not register a trade name that is not a mark.

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Md. Code Ann., Bus. Reg. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)