USPTO TEAS—What is a disclaimer?

When required, disclaimer works against you. So, an ideal trademark would not have a disclaimer. However, sometimes you want to include certain words that need to be disclaimed no matter what. In that case, I recommend you start the trademark registration process in advance using an ITU application and do not include disclaimer in your initial application. A lack of your disclaimer does not cost your extra USPTO fees. It costs extra time and some work, but if you started early, you can afford waiting for a few months more before you start print out brochures and build signs for your business with ®, sitting on your priority date (filing date).