General Motors has filed to trademark Anthem in January 2021, GM Authority has uncovered.
Filed on January 5th, 2021 with the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO), the application is assigned serial number 90448668 and lists “Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles” as its goods and services category.
Current, second-gen GMC Acadia
This filing represents the fourth time in the past 12 years that GM has filed to trademark the Anthem name with the USPTO. The first time that the Detroit-based automaker filed to trademark the name was in June 2009, followed by a subsequent application in May 2013, and then again in December 2016.
| Name | Filing Date | Office | Serial Number | Goods & Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthem | June 11, 2009 | USPTO | 77756972 | Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, sport utility vehicles, trucks and vans |
| Anthem | October 5, 2013 | USPTO | 85928618 | Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, sport utility vehicles, trucks and vans |
| Anthem | December 20, 2016 | USPTO | 87274972 | Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, sport utility vehicles, trucks and vans |
| Anthem | January 5, 2021 | USPTO | 90448668 | Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles |
The first two filings have since been abandoned, presumably because GM did not file a Statement of Use document – a required step in the trademark process that shows how the trademark is being used in a real-world product or service. The third application, filed in December 2016, will likely follow the first two in becoming abandoned for the same reasons.
GMC Granite concept
The filing of the fourth application, meanwhile, makes it quite clear that GM is very much interested in securing the Anthem trademark, foreshadowing a future vehicle by that name. This leads us to ponder the vehicle that will carry the Anthem badge. GM Authority believes that the name will be used for a future GMC crossover – either a midsize or a subcompact CUV.
The subcompact option is quite simple, as such a vehicle would slot below the compact Terrain in GMC’s utility portfolio. A vehicle in that space was being pondered a few years ago before being shelved. Most recently, however, GM Authority sources have indicated that GM is once again considering such a model, though the model has yet to be approved for production. If a subcompact GMC model comes to market, we believe that it will be named Granite or Graphyte… and that brings us to the midsize crossover option.
First-generation GMC Acadia
As GM Authority first reported, the next-, third-generation GMC Acadia will grow in size, placing it in the size realm of a large crossover similar to the first-gen Acadia, along with the current Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. This will create a rather substantial white space between the next-gen model and the compact Terrain. As a result, it’s possible that GMC will introduce a new model to fill the newly-created gap, and that new model could be called Anthem.
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Comments
It’s a tough call on this name. Anthem is not like the rugged/outdoor theme we see in the current GMC naming convention (Sierra, Terrain, Yukon, etc.). It sounds more at home as a Buick, but their models follow the “En-” convention. An idea I had was Cadillac, given the new Lyriq name – Anthem sounds related. But that doesn’t have the new Cadillac -iq at the end. Who knows, it could be something completely out there, given how we have Origin on the Cruise side of the house. Maybe its a mystery EV?
gm, Crap or get off the pot.
They’re going to have to fork over cash (if they haven’t already) because Anthem and Granite are both current models of Mack trucks.
From what I understand, that doesn’t matter all that much since the product category is different. In other words, an applicant can still successfully register a trademark held by another entity if it’s in a different goods and services realm.
Except both trademarks are in the same classes. Mack Anthem is granted in classes 019 021 023 031 035 044, which happens to be exactly the same as GM’s Anthem application of 019, 021, 023, 031, 035, 044. The fact that they’re in the same class severely weakens GM’s case.
Think about it this way: if somebody made a Silverado or Denali semi truck, GM would be screaming.
It’s also not a hard and fast rule, but is subject to distinctiveness, likelihood of confusion, and court interpretation. A strong trademark like “Kodak” has broader rights than “Apple”.
Given there were no filed an objection to GM’s trademark applications, I highly think GM paid Volvo.
It seems to me that they should call the new larger Acadia XL, like Yukon XL. Name the new one, similar sized to the current SUV Acadia. Why spend all that money building a new brand. I agree with David above. Anthem makes sense with Lyriq. I hope Cadillac doesn’t get stuck in naming all the vehicles with “iq” Sounds too much like yuck.
Who would want to drive an Escaliq?
How about a completely new GMC Canyon?? I know this is off the subject…
Maybe it’s a smaller EV pickup truck – a la Nikola Badger? Or possibly a smaller Hummer?
I know I digress further, but what about an electric Hummer side by side ATV?
An electric Bronco or Wrangler competitor? That would seem like logical.
The use of this name to an extent, will be tricky, GM must have forgotten that the name Anthem is already being used on MACK’s Class 8 Trucks, would be interesting to see how GM will pull this one off.
You cover more useful information than I have read anywhere else. Can you share your sourceexperience with me?
Anthem? What vehicle would it go to?