General Motors has been pursuing a trademark for the word Anthem for nearly a decade, telling us that it has serious plans for the name. Here’s an in-depth look at the situation, and what The General might have planned for Anthem.
The Trademark
GM first filed to register Anthem as a (character) trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on June 11th, 2009. That filing never made it to registration, since GM failed to file a Statement of Use (SOU) – a required and indispensable document that’s part of the trademark registration process which demonstrates to the USPTO that a company has a real-world product or service by the name. So, the original filing (serial number 77756972) was abandoned in July 2013.
Three years later, GM once again filed an application for the Anthem name. This second application was filed on December 20th, 2016 in the goods and services category of “Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, sport utility vehicles, trucks and vans”.
Currently, this second application is well on its way to being registered. As of September 15th, 2017, the USPTO shows a status of 680 – Approved for Publication, which means that the mark will soon be published in the official USPTO gazette, informing other stakeholders of GM’s intention to register the name in the aforementioned goods and services category. From there, the application will move on to several other steps – including the crucial step of submitting the Statement of Use document that held up the first application.
The takeaway here is this: GM is serious about securing trademark rights to the Anthem name. It has been at it two separate times spanning eight years. Clearly, the automaker is planning a product with the name.
But enough with the legalese… let’s discuss the much more exciting topic of what the name will be used for.
The Predictions
In the past, GM had a vehicle carrying the Anthem name: the Oldsmobile Anthem concept car. Revealed in 1992, the concept sedan became the harbinger for Oldsmobile styling direction. But that’s way in the past.
Before we go forth in our predictions, we should say this: crossovers, crossovers, crossovers. Consumers’ drive towards CUVs is changing the name of the automotive game, and the face of the industry. Not only are crossovers now selling in higher-than-ever quantities at the expense of sedans, but they’re more profitable for automakers, as consumers are willing to pay a premium for the vehicles. So let’s keep that in mind.
Now, the way we see it, GM currently has a few gaps in its portfolio. Identifying these gaps should help us predict how the automaker will use the Anthem name.
Right off the bat, we’ll eliminate the Cadillac brand, since Anthem doesn’t fit with Cadillac’s CT#/XT# naming convention. So, on to Chevy, Buick and GMC.
As it stands, the Chevrolet lineup is pretty fleshed out, with the exception of a midsize crossover between the compact Equinox and full-size Traverse. That void, however, will soon be filled wit the future Chevy Blazer. So, it doesn’t look like there is any space in the Chevy lineup for a new vehicle. On to Buick.
Like Chevrolet, Buick is currently missing a midsize crossover to slot between the compact Envision and full-size Enclave. Now, Buick can continue touting that it’s perfectly happy with three crossovers in its lineup until it’s blue in the face, but we believe that there is room for one more Buick CUV that would be analogous to the GMC Acadia and upcoming Chevy Blazer in size, but with the Buick design language and product values/characteristics. Given Buick’s desire to name all crossovers using the “En” prefix (Encore, Envision, Enclave), we believe that a midsize Buick crossover – if it ever materializes – will be named Enspire, a name GM has previously moved to trademark.
Outside of the midsize crossover space, Buick could also expand its lineup to include a compact sedan/hatch (Verano) or smaller. But given market trend toward crossovers, we do not see such models coming to fruition. On to GMC.
This is where things get interesting. GMC has not one, but two gaps in its portfolio: the first is a subcompact (B segment) crossover along the lines of the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore. The second is a full-size crossover, such as the first-gen Acadia. We posit that the Anthem name is being prepared for use with one of these vehicles
But let’s take that even further: years ago, GMC showed a subcompact concept crossover called the Granite. The vehicle was even shown as a pickup bed called the Granite UPC. So when GMC finally gets around to putting a GMC entry into the fastest-growing crossover space, then the vehicle will likely be called GMC Granite. That leaves the Anthem name for a full-size, three-row crossover to take the space left by the first-generation GMC Acadia of those who find the Buick Enclave too soft, and for those who want more than what is offered by the Chevrolet Traverse.
To hedge our bets, we’ll throw in an odd-ball prediction that GM will use Anthem for a trim level name for Chevrolet, Buick, or GMC. For instance, there could be a Chevrolet Malibu Anthem, GMC Terrain Anthem or Buick Regal Anthem. But we just don’t see that becoming reality. Our bets are on the Anthem being a full-size GM crossover… an Acadia XL of sorts.
GMC Anthem. We like the sound of that.
Stay tuned to GM Authority as we follow this story, as well as for GMC news and GM news.
Comments
In other news this week, Mack Trucks unveiled their new flagship highway tractor….named….Anthem…got a catchy marketing song and all.
Yes – Mack Trucks Anthem is tm’d, according to their site.
GM’s tm includes trucks, so – lawyers, figure it out. I’m gonna watch football.
The trademark filings are for different categories of products (goods and services), which is the differentiating factor in securing a trademark.
For instance, I can secure rights to use the word “Anthem” for… say… an electronic video game.. while GM do the same for consumer vehicles.
The GM filing is in the category of Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, sport utility vehicles, trucks and vans”.
As of this writing, Mack Trucks of Greensboro, North Carolina does not have any application or filing with the USPTO for the term “Anthem” or any other combination with the word “Anthem”.
Anthem would be an ideal name for a top tier large CUV built atop the Omega platform used by Cadillac’s CT6 as it would feature advanced engineering, manufacturing techniques and materials featuring both aluminum alloys and composites for a curb weight of just over 3,000 lbs meaning the Escalade sized Anthem could even be powered by the 275 horsepower LTG 2.0L DOHC-4v 4-cyl turbo.
I like that idea except the LTG in that size vehicle. It wouldn’t be that light. I’d like to see GMC go international (thinking Europe), because there’s likely a taste for powerful American vehicles. Does anyone here get the impression a reason Chevrolet flopped in Europe is because small engine cars is at odds with the image? GMC is also in a better position to be profitable with less sales volume. I’m not against seeing an LTG in a 3000 lbs car if they platform share (with the Kia Proceed concept) and market GMC with a rally racing version. Then connect the image with mainstream models
Chevrolet deliberately pulled out from Europe because Opel claimed it ate into its sales with mostly identical but cheaper vehicles (think Chevy Trax vs Opel Mokka)… On the other hand, the US-made Chevrolets (Camaro, Corvette, Tahoe) always had a good image in Europe but that image was tarnished by the Korean-made vehicles when Daewoo was taken over to form GM Korea (Lacetti, Mattiz).
That situation got better as GM Korea evolved towards building more quality, but then pulling out from Europe impacted after-sales so much (as service points disappeared) that those previous owners won’t easily come back.
Regarding small engines: in most European countries manufacturers need to have small engines to ensure owners are not overtaxed. Taxation here is based on displacement and CO2 levels. So the smaller the engine, the better from a fiscal point of view. 2 to 2.5 liters displacement is for most people the maximum they can afford to drive. This is certainly the case in France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands etc. Germany and some other countries have other taxation systems (hence German manufacturers also make big-displacement engines and French don’t). Having a small engine is therefore not an issue in Europe, quite the contrary. To give an example: the Cadillac CTS is available with the 2.0 LTG engine only here and not with the V-6 engines (the V-8 CTS-V is also available but sells in extremely low numbers and mostly in Germany/Switzerland).
Thanks Mike. I was thinking of how there are several Range Rover models now. And something closer to the Velar or F-pace very well may be more appropriate (and still offer a Camaro V8).
On the domestic desire for a Colorado/Canyon 7 seater SUV: why triple-down with another Traverse/Enclave? A Canyon based SUV will tow better than those and have more comfortable seating than the pickup. And it will daily drive better than a Yukon. Last I checked, there was no tow rating listed for the Traverse (which is full size width anyway) on the Chevrolet site.
I think if Buick does it then it should be a concept car? If GMC does it then it should be a subcompact crossover. I kinda doubt that the Granite name will be alive.
I tend to agree that the Anthem name will go to GMC . I can see it being used on the new Enclave and Traverse platform . That is an important area where they don’t have a 7 passenger SUV with more storage space in the rear that the new Acadia lacks . That seems to be the biggest complaint from potential customers .
I personally don’t see GMC going any smaller than the Terrain ( Traxx and Encore size ) it just doesn’t fit their image .
It would be foolish of GM to use the name for ‘ any ” new car be it a Buick or Chevy .
However Buick doesn’t have a B / Volt in their product portfolio . Hmmmmmmmm………..
This is the Canyon based SUV we have been waiting for so very long.
But then again it may not even be a production vehicle let alone a GMC.
Just going to have to wait and see.
Not sure such a vehicle is coming, Scott… though I may be wrong… and I hope I am. But I’ve heard through the grapevine that there will be no body on frame SUVs below the full sizers after 2021.
As for the the idea of the Anthem name being reserved for a concept, I doubt it, since GM has spent almost a decade going after it – which is not something that typically happens for concepts. Concept names, in the rare case that they do receive a trademark filing, are typically filed for 12 months before or after the concept is unveiled… and the application never gets approved because it’s not an actual product.
Wasn’t the avista name being trademarked before?
The Avista is a perfect example of what I describe in my comment above, specifically:
“Concept names, in the rare case that they do receive a trademark filing, are typically filed for 12 months before or after the concept is unveiled… and the application never gets approved because it’s not an actual product.”
So, the Avista debuted in January 2016. The trademark filing was submitted in September 2015… three months before the debut. The filing will end up being abandoned unless an actual product with that name comes to market from GM.
The bottom line is that GM didn’t try to secure TM rights to the Avista name for nearly a decade before unveiling the concept. They filed for it 3 months prior to the concept’s public debut. By comparison, GM has been trying to go after Anthem for 8 years.