1505.02(e) Amendments Adding or Deleting Disclaimers
If an applicant proposes to amend an application to insert a disclaimer after publication and before issuance of the notice of allowance or registration certificate, and the amendment is otherwise proper, the USPTO will approve the amendment and will not republish the mark. If the notice of allowance has issued, an amendment to insert a disclaimer may not be submitted as a post publication amendment. It must be submitted in a petition to the Director under Trademark Rule 2.146. 37 C.F.R. §§2.77(b), 2.146. Likewise, if the USPTO requests the insertion of a disclaimer after publication and the applicant agrees to the disclaimer, the USPTO will enter the disclaimer and will not republish the mark.
If an applicant proposes to amend the application to delete a disclaimer after publication and before issuance of the notice of allowance or registration certificate, and the USPTO determines that the amendment is acceptable, the USPTO will approve the amendment in accordance with the procedures in TMEP §1505.01(c)(i), and will republish the mark. If the amendment deleting the disclaimer is unacceptable, the USPTO will follow the procedures in TMEP §1505.01(c)(ii). A request to delete a disclaimer after issuance of the notice of allowance and before the filing of a statement of use is not permitted. Between the issuance of the notice of allowance and the filing of a statement of use, the Office cannot republish the application or issue an Office action regarding the request. The applicant may submit the amendment with the statement of use.
Republication is generally required when a disclaimer is deleted after publication (e.g., if printed through a clerical error or originally required by the examining attorney and later determined to be unnecessary).
Exception: If the applicant proposes to amend the mark after publication to delete matter that was the subject of a disclaimer (e.g., generic wording), the USPTO determines that the amendment is not a material alteration of the mark, and the applicant also requests that the disclaimer be deleted, republication is not required.