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GM Files 19 Cadillac Trademark Applications In One Day

On August 9th, 2018, General Motors’ legal department filed 19 separate trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) associated with the Cadillac product line, our colleagues at Cadillac Society were first to discover.

The applications are not for 19 different models, as the filings include the “Cadillac + model name” references as well as individual model names without the Cadillac brand identifier, as follows:

Cadillac CT#:

  • Cadillac CT2
  • Cadillac CT3
  • Cadillac CT4
  • Cadillac CT7
  • Cadillac CT8

CT#:

  • CT7
  • CT8

Cadillac XT#:

  • Cadillac XT2
  • Cadillac XT3
  • Cadillac XT4
  • Cadillac XT6
  • Cadillac XT7
  • Cadillac XT8

XT#:

  • XT2
  • XT3
  • XT4
  • XT6
  • XT7
  • XT8

Each of the applications list the Goods and Services category as being: “Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, sport utility vehicles, trucks, vans, engines therefor and structural parts thereof.”

Before you get too excited, we should note that GM’s Cadillac-focused USPTO filing spree is probably not actually all that noteworthy for two reasons. First, GM has already filed trademark applications for these names in the past. And second, it is a common practice to file for a name, which buys one some time before a product is actually launched into the marketplace, at which point (and only at which point) the trademark application is approved by the USPTO.

As for the actual trademarks: Cadillac has already shown us the XT4 and will launch the new compact crossover this fall in the U.S. – so that application should be granted in the near future. Meanwhile, we’ve recently seen spy shots of the Cadillac XT6CT5CT4, so much like with the XT4, it would be a safe bet that GM will be granted rights to those names after those models are launched. Meanwhile, registering the likes of CT2/XT2, CT3/XT3, CT7/XT7 and CT8/XT8 seems farther into the future.

Recent Cadillac Model Trademark Filings

Word MarkFiling DateSerial NumberRegistration DateRegistration Number
XT2August 8, 201888069778Not registered
XT3August 8, 201888069794Not registered
XT4August 8, 201888069820Not registered
XT5June 30, 201586447732August 9, 20165018505
XT6August 8, 201888070077Not registered
XT7August 8, 201888070096
Not registered
XT8August 8, 201888069570Not registered
Cadillac XT2August 8, 201888069578Not registered
Cadillac XT3August 8, 201888069594Not registered
Cadillac XT4August 8, 201888069604Not registered
Cadillac XT5November 7, 201486448032Not registered
Cadillac XT6August 8, 201888069616Not registered
Cadillac XT7August 8, 201888069633Not registered
Cadillac XT8August 8, 201888069767Not registered
CT2November 7, 201486447631Not registered
CT3November 7, 201486447637Not registered
CT4November 7, 201486447637Not registered
CT5January 17, 201887758475Not registered
CT6July 21, 201486343098August 2, 20165013439
CT7August 8, 201888069656Not registered
CT8August 8, 201888069693Not registered
Cadillac CT2August 8, 201888069705Not registered
Cadillac CT3August 8, 201888069722Not registered
Cadillac CT4August 8, 201888069738Not registered
Cadillac CT5March 6, 201887821794Not registered
Cadillac CT6July 21, 201486343083Abandoned
Cadillac CT7August 8, 201888069744Not registered
Cadillac CT8August 8, 201888069755Not registered

Elizabeth Puckett has a fascination with all things automotive. She obsessively follows industry news, trends, and technology.

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Comments

  1. They did it to cover their basis & avoid any potential legel dispute in the future just in case someone used the same alphanumerics. Think Infiniti vs Audi regarding Q5/7 & later Alfa Romeo/Maserati vs Audi regarding Q4.

    I’m kinda surprised it took them that long to do it.

    Reply
    1. It didn’t take that long. They first filed in 2014 for CT/XT2-CT/XT8.

      But again, none of these except for CT6 and XT5 have been registered. They’re only applications for the time being.

      Once Cadillac has a real product with that name, the office will grant the registration. So it’s not so much about covering the bases, since a filing that doesn’t get registered doesn’t actually cover any bases.

      Reply
  2. I will bet now that the Escalade will become the XT8.

    Reply
    1. Nope. Escalade will stay Escalade.
      XT7 and XT8 are 2 different rwd based suv models.

      Reply
      1. Hope you are right. Would be great to see more utilization of the Omega platform.

        Reply
  3. Pontiac lesson: Don’t use alphabet soup naming unless you want to kill a brand. Deville is a name. Fleetwood is a name. XT4 means nothing.

    Reply
    1. The point of alfa-numerics is to emphasis that these are CADILLACS. Calling the cars Deville and Fleetwood are a great way to make people think immediately of the malaise era that nearly killed the brand.

      Reply
    2. XT4 is a name, and if you look at Cadillac’s history back before the 1950’s, there always was a naming hierarchy. If anything, the XT and CT nomenclature is more inline with Cadillac’s history than you’re aware of.

      Besides, Deville and Fleetwood are just memories of a time when Cadillac made terrible cars that were ultimately a reward for years of blue-collar labour rather than a status symbol for the upper crust; something that should be the focus of Cadillac.

      Reply
      1. Partially true for the last sentence. The blue collar started to show in the Cadillacs in the ’70s -mid ’00s. The ’50s – ’60s Cadillac were expensive enough that hardly any blue collar person could afford them. Perhaps ’60s Cadillacs were transitioning in between white and blue collar.

        Reply
    3. The death of Pontiac came as a result of terrible product for over a decade. It had nothing to do with the cars’ names and would still have ended in a similar fate with “real” names, as a result of terrible product.

      Meanwhile, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Genesis, Volvo, Jaguar, Acura, and Tesla are thriving using alpha numeric names. But they must be dying too, right?

      Reply
  4. Wonder what the reasoning for not adding CT1/XT1 and CT9/XT9 is. Seems like in the future Cadillac could utilize CT1 and XT1 in extreme Urban environments. And CT9/XT9 could be Bentley fighters. Wonder if Cadillac will stick real names to their Ultra Top Range offerings if they ever develop them. Maybe they’re playing the BMW game where the number 8 is the top Dog in their offerings. Anything above would basically be bespoke and extremely expensive and carry a Traditional Cadillac name from the past.

    Reply
  5. It’s about time. Try to imagine what is going to be in Cadillac Showrooms this time next year…..

    NO Cadillac “V’s” of any kind. Three sedans, a CT4, CT5, and CT6. A CT6 V Sport yes, but NO “V’s”……

    The XT4, XT5, and Escalade…..

    Gone will be…..all ATS vehicles, including the “V’s” and the Coupe. The CTS, including the “V”. The XTS.

    Cadillac will be loosing 7 vehicles, and gaining “3”….

    I don’t know how they intend to double sales with that line-up.

    They have already said the CT5 “V” will follow the CT5 in “24 MONTHS”….that’s 2021….a 3 year hiatus with no “V’s”

    I fear that with deNysschen gone, so is Cadillac’s vision for the future.

    Mark Reuss has so many jobs at GM…i.e. Executive Vice President of GM, President of Global Product Group, and President of Cadillac. That’s 3 separate jobs….

    Steve Carlisle, who has no vision for Cadillac’s future development, at least I haven’t seen any, is President of Cadillacs day to day operations. He, and Sam Basile, who leads global portfolio planning for Cadillac, now report to Reuss….

    This means any time a decision is made at Cadillac, it has to go through a chin of command. Like something as simple as adding a new exterior color. This could take months, with meeting after meeting.

    There is definitely no vision for the future at Cadillac ny longer. They cancelled the XT8, that was to be built on the Omega chassis because they (Reuss, Ammann, Bera) said it would be too costly….Amazing!…..and one of the reasons Reuss and deNysschen couldn’t get along…

    How costly is it to build a chassis (Omega) for ONE vehicle (CT6). How costly is it to have a committee making a decision where one person did it before…..

    The vision is gone and in it’s place we have bean counters and ineptitude……

    Reply
    1. I really doubt that the CT5-V will 2 years after the regular model. Where did you get this “24 months”?

      Reply
      1. That comment came direct from CT5 development .

        Reply
  6. CT7 – big coupe.
    CT8 – a 4 door cabrio. Probably different versions of the car.
    XT7 – X5/Cayenne’s competitor. RWD platform
    XT8 – huge expensive SUV. RWD platform

    Next gen XT4, XT5, XT6 – will be RWD.

    *uck MT for their bs article… JDN’s plan still has a green light.

    Reply
    1. All of these vehicles, as I have mentioned several times before here, were in deNysschen’s 10 year turn around plan for Cadillac. Now, with no leadership, and the bean counters in charge, who knows. I told you they have already cancelled the XT7, that was to be built on the Omega platform, saying it would be too costly.

      One can only hope they change their minds…….

      Reply
  7. At least now when one walks into a Caddy showroom, there will be a uniform understanding of scale when past names were confusing to a new Cadillac visitor –XLR-‘Deville-Seville-XTS-XT5 etc…The C’s will be cars the X’s will be crossovers The ‘1’s will be low end/compact the higher numbers will be larger or more upscale selections

    Reply
    1. Ah, like Mazda does now, the higher the number, the larger the vehicle.

      Reply
  8. Cadillac may not make the best of cars, but their legal team gets it. Why even consider putting a model on the market if you don’t (or can’t) own its name? So first thing they do is they stake a claim in the name and then they see what happens. It’s like having an umbrella with you before you go out. Much better to have it with you than trying to find one when you’re caught in the rain.

    Andrei Mincov

    Founder and CEO of Trademark Factory® / https://trademarkfactory.com, the only firm in the world that offers trademarking services with a predictable, guaranteed result, for a predictable, guaranteed budget. We can help you register your trademarks with a free comprehensive trademark search, for a single all-inclusive flat fee, with a 100% money-back guarantee.

    Reply
    1. I think GMa has a policy against this. If there is a contract in place, you’re not getting anything out of it.

      Reply

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