Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 16.051 · Subchapter B. REGISTRATION OF MARK
REGISTRABLE MARKS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A mark that distinguishes an applicant's goods or services from those of others is registrable unless the mark:
(1) consists of or comprises matter that is immoral, deceptive, or scandalous;
(2) consists of or comprises matter that may disparage, falsely suggest a connection with, or bring into contempt or disrepute:
(A) a person, whether living or dead;
(B) an institution;
(C) a belief; or
(D) a national symbol;
(3) depicts, comprises, or simulates the flag, the coat of arms, the seal, the geographic outline, or other insignia of:
(A) the United States;
(B) a state;
(C) a municipality; or
(D) a foreign nation;
(4) consists of or comprises the name, signature, or portrait of a particular living individual who has not consented in writing to the mark's registration;
(5) when used on or in connection with the applicant's goods or services:
(A) is merely descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of the applicant's goods or services; or
(B) is primarily geographically descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive of the applicant's goods or services;
(6) is primarily merely a surname; or
(7) is likely to cause confusion or mistake, or to deceive, because, when used on or in connection with the applicant's goods or services, it resembles:
(A) a mark registered in this state; or
(B) an unabandoned mark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
(b) Subsection (a)(5) or (6) does not prevent the registration of a mark used by the applicant that has become distinctive as applied to the applicant's goods or services. The secretary of state may accept as evidence that a mark has become distinctive, when used on or in connection with the applicant's goods or services, proof of continuous use of the mark as such by the applicant in this state for the five years preceding the date on which the claim of distinctiveness is made.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by:
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 563 (H.B. 3141), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2012.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 967 (S.B. 2065), Sec. 16.001, eff. September 1, 2017.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.16.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 3c71712c3375d13ca168a515d429bdc0be6093f7d893430247a04886dc029f2e
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.