Just this week, GM’s product development chief Mark Reuss was quoted as saying that a rival to the Ford F-150 Raptor does not rank high on GM’s list of priorities, instead saying that a production version of the Chevy Colorado ZR2 concept is much more likely to come to market.
Reporters then turned to Buick-GMC Vice President Duncan Aldred to gleam more information on the trademark application for the term Badlands that GM filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office earlier in 2015, and which GM Authority was first to discover.
“When you are looking at terms, or names and phrases, the first thing you do, even if it is a speck of an idea, you trademark the name because it can become a legal mine field,” Aldred was quoted as saying in March. “If someone says, ‘I like that,’ you generally go for it and work out if you might use it later.”
“We’ve probably got hundreds, if not thousands, of names (we) don’t use”, he added.
The GM Authority Take
A quick brief on trademark applications:
The intricacies of the trademark process are such that the USPTO will only approve a trademark application if the applicant “claims in good faith” that it will use the mark in commerce (a real-world product or service). This is performed via a document called the Statement of Use — one of the unavoidable last steps in the USPTO’s trademark process that determines whether or not a trademark application is approved.
In other words, if the applicant can not or does not provide a Statement of Use demonstrating specific, good faith plans to use the trademark being applied for in a real-world product or service, then the USPTO does not approve the application. If that weren’t the case, then everyone — from people to companies and possibly even monkeys — would be filing trademarks for things they they “like”, resulting in the trademark equivalent of patent and domain squatting.
This small yet important detail of the trademark process dispels the popular misconception that, as Mr. Aldred puts it, “a speck of an idea” can be trademarked. As you can see, this is simply not the case.
Now as it specifically relates Badlands: the automaker only filed the Badlands application on February 16th, 2015. As of this writing, the application has a status of 630 – New Application – Record Initialized Not Assigned To Examiner.
Over the next few months, the USPTO will assign GM’s Badlands trademark application to an examiner and then publish it for opposition, which is a step in the trademark process that places the application in the USPTO’s Official Gazette, a weekly trademark journal listing the trademarks in the process of being considered for registration. This period, usually lasting 12 weeks, allows others to become aware of GM’s intent to register the Badlands mark and oppose its registration if they so desire.
If all this goes through without a hitch, then the USPTO will grant GM a Notice of Allowance, “a written notification from the USPTO that a specific mark has survived the opposition period following publication in the Official Gazette, and has consequently been allowed.”
At this point, it will be up to GM to file the aforementioned Statement of Use. The General will have a bit of time to provide the document to the USPTO, as it can request up to 5 extensions each lasting 6 months.
All the above is obviously an oversimplified summary of the USPTO trademark process. Even so, it specifically presents why even “ideas” that those within GM “like” as good product names aren’t registered as trademarks, but simply applied for.
Comments
Very Well Explained, now with that said and that Wacked Smoke Screen Duncan Aldred provided……They coming out with something Way Bad Ass!!!!! 😉
I know facts aren’t important here – but the K2s are statistically by far the most unreliable full size trucks on the market. Maybe GM should work on that problem first.
People get unrealistic expectations sometimes – when Chrysler became DaimlerChrylser, some had hopes for MBs that were inexpensive and Dodges that were well built – neither happened. When GM got an (undeserved) several billion dollar shot in the arm, people had utopian ideas about reliable Chevys. That didn’t happen, either. They had four years now to make the Cruze reliable, and it is still the bottom of the heap.
lol what!?
I expect then name to be used. But the fact is GM has man names registered and keep them under register to use if they feel they need to find a name. There have been some cars in the 11th hour that have used a name chosen off a list of names GM had owned the rights too.
Case in point. The Fiero was going to be the FIamma and then the Pegasus like the emblem on the car. For some reason the name was dropped at the 11th hour and they had too choose a new name. Now the story as told by John Schinella was that he looked in a book that was in the room and Found Fiero as meaning proud in Italian.
Well here is the odd part. GM used the Fiero name in a show car in the late 60’s called the Fiero Fierbird. Aero Concept. The name was a merging of Fi from Firbird and ero from the Aero to make Fiero.
GM owned the right and move on with the name leaving the flying horse emblem since they had no time to redesign it.
GM always keeps a long list of names available and under lock and key the old names to be able to control how and where they are used
Now back to the Badlands. This could be something as simple as a name for a new paint package as GM has plans to make a lot of special limited edition trucks as they have already shown. This could also be a GMC version of a ZR2 on the Colorado as Denali would not fit a off road package as well. Or It could be a Raptor fighter.
My feelings are leaning more to a Special edition package or ZR2 GMC package but I do not expect a Raptor fighter at least yet. GM has a lot more important volume products to invest in first.
Now from this story this Is only part of the issues in acquiring a name. What is left out is how long it takes and how expensive it can be per name. Most names can cost in legal fees from $15K-50K each to just gain the rights. They also have to pass marketing and other areas where they try to trouble shoot a name for mixed or offensive meanings and they even mess up there such as Lacrosse was a slang French Canadian term that was found offensive.
Now you can understand why some brands stick to a number letter name as they are easier, faster and cheaper to register. Same for some cars with made up names too, you know the ones that mean nothing.
By the way I agree a good explanation here just keep in mind this is only a part of all that I involved. My addition is also just a simplified version of a little more. Naming is one of the most difficult things in building a car with so many hoops to jump through..
“But the fact is GM has man names registered and keep them under register to use if they feel they need to find a name.”
No scott. This is not a fact and you are completely incorrect, as keeping names “under register” is simply not possible.
Please take the time to educate yourself about the trademark process and the requirements behind it by reading the GM Authority take above.