Filing of applications; appeal.

(a) Upon the filing of an application for registration and payment of the application fee, the director shall cause the application to be examined for conformity with this part.

(b) The applicant shall provide any additional pertinent information requested by the director including a description of a design mark and may make, or authorize the director to make, such amendments to the application as may be reasonably requested by the director or deemed by the applicant to be advisable to respond to any rejection or objection.

(c) The director may require the applicant to disclaim an unregisterable component of a mark otherwise registerable, and an applicant may voluntarily disclaim a component of a mark sought to be registered. No disclaimer shall prejudice or affect the applicant's or registrant's rights in the disclaimed matter, or the applicant's or registrant's rights of registration in another application if the disclaimed matter is or will become distinctive of the applicant's or registrant's goods or services.

(d) If the application for registration of a mark is denied, the director shall notify the applicant of the denial and the reasons for the denial. An applicant may appeal the director's denial of an application for registration of a mark in accordance with section 91-13.1.

(e) Applications concurrently being processed by the director and seeking registration of the same or confusingly similar marks for the same or related goods or services shall be reviewed in the order that they are filed. If an earlier-filed application is granted registration, the other applications seeking registration of the same or confusingly similar marks for the same or related goods or services shall be rejected. Any rejected applicant may bring an action for cancellation of the registration upon grounds of prior or superior rights to the mark, in accordance with section 482-28. [L 2001, c 15, pt of §1; am L 2003, c 124, §94]