Trademark infringement potential VS no exclusive use of words in a trademark?

Question

I am seeings various trademarks with disclaimers along the line of:

NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE "WORD" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN

So for example, the WORD is part of two words trademark, lets call it TWO WORD. What does the disclaimer do to the trademark in this case, where they state that they do not have any claim to the word WORD apart from the mark as shown?

Can I still use it for my own use? Can one claim the domain name for that trademark? Can one use the trademark in another industry? What are the limitation of such trademarks?

Answer 1

The point of the disclaimer is to restrict the claim to only the specific combination of words being asserted as a trademark.

One reason for doing so is to reduce the chance of the trademark being found overly broad or generic. Generic or descriptive terms generally can't be claimed as trademarks, and an attempt to own such a term might be grounds for refusing registration. To that end, the USPTO may require that an applicant specifically disclaim ownership of individual parts that can't be registered.

The result for you:

• You can use the individual word being disclaimed, in any industry you like, as long as it isn't part of the phrase being claimed (but will probably be unable to register it as a trademark; there are probably reasons the other guy disclaimed it).

• You can acquire a domain name consisting of the word. You might even get to keep it. Registrars aren't government entities, though, and aren't necessarily restricted to using US trademark law in making their decision.

Stay away from the actual trademark, though, especially if it's arbitrary enough to be distinctive, and double-especially in any industry even tangential to the other company's.