T.M.E.P. § 1215.07
Disclaimers

Executive summary:

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1215.07 Disclaimers

Trademark Act §6(a), 15 U.S.C. 1056(a), provides for the disclaimer of "an unregistrable component of a mark otherwise registrable." The guidelines on disclaimer discussed in TMEP §§1213 et. seq. apply to domain name mark applications.

If a composite mark includes a domain name composed of unregistrable matter (e.g., a merely descriptive or generic term and a TLD), disclaimer is required.

If a disclaimer is required and the domain name includes a misspelled or telescoped word, the correct spelling must be disclaimed. See TMEP §§1213.05(a) (i) and 1213.08(c).

A compound term composed of arbitrary or suggestive matter combined with a "dot" and a TLD is considered unitary, and therefore no disclaimer of the TLD is required. See examples below and TMEP §§1213.05 et seq. regarding unitary marks.

Disclaimer Examples

Mark
Disclaimer
ABC BANK.COM BANK.COM
ABC FEDERALBANK.COM FEDERAL BANK.COM
ABC GROCERI STOR.COM GROCERY STORE.COM
ABC.COM no disclaimer
ABC.BANK.COM no disclaimer
ABCBANK.COM no disclaimer