Opinion ID: 211373
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Unitary Mark

Text: 18 Under 15 U.S.C. § 1056(a), [t]he Director may require the applicant to disclaim an unregistrable component of a mark otherwise registrable. The disclaimer requirement provides the benefits of the Lanham Act to applicants for composite marks with unregistrable components and, at the same time, prevents an applicant from claiming exclusive rights to disclaimed portions apart from composite marks. Dena Corp., 950 F.2d at 1560. If a mark is unitary, meaning that it has no unregistrable components and is an inseparable whole, it is exempted from the disclaimer requirement because it does not fit within the language of 15 U.S.C. § 1056(a). Id. A unitary mark creates a single and distinct commercial impression. Id. at 1561. 19 On appeal, Slokevage argues that her trade dress mark is unitary because its elements are inseparable and therefore that the examiner should not have required a disclaimer. She contends that the Board erred by relying solely on evidence that Slokevage separately registered the words of the trade dress to determine that the trade dress is not unitary. She further asserts that the elements of the trade dress mark are not capable of being separated and are closely connected in physical proximity to each other. The PTO responds that the mark is not unitary, and is separable, as shown by the separate registration of the word mark and the design element. 20 We agree with the PTO that substantial evidence supports the Board's finding that the mark is not unitary. The display of elements in the drawing of the trade dress, the applicant's earlier registration of the words FLASH DARE!, and the applicant's design patent on the cut-out area are evidence that Slokevage's trade dress is not unitary. Moreover, trade dress, by its nature, contains distinct elements and is characterized as the combination of various elements to create an overall impression. While in some cases the elements may be so combined as to be inseparable, that is not the case here, as shown by the separate locations of the words and design elements and the separate registration of the elements.