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Surprisingly, GM Isn’t The Only Company After The Optiq Trademark

Cadillac is transitioning to an all-electric portfolio, and with that transition, the luxury marque is also adopting a new vehicle naming strategy featuring the “iq” suffix – for example, the first Cadillac EV out the gates will be the Cadillac Lyriq crossover. Coinciding with the new naming strategy is a variety of trademark applications, including for the term “Optiq.” However, as it turns out, General Motors isn’t the only company interested in trademarking Optiq.

Let’s start with a brief summary of GM and Cadillac’s involvement in trademarking the term Optiq. Back in 2019, GM Authority discovered that General Motors had filed an application to register Optiq with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in conjunction with tracking software capable of obtaining the location information of land, air, and sea vehicles, as well as cargo. Then in 2020, General Motors filed to trademark Optiq and Cadillac Optiq, with the filings made for “Motorized land vehicles, namely automobiles” in regard to the associated Goods and Services.

General Motors ended up dropping the trademark Cadillac Optiq filing, as GM Authority covered in May of 2021, only to once again file for the Cadillac Optiq trademark this past November, listing “Electric vehicles, namely, automobiles” under the Goods and Services category.

It should come as no surprise that General Motors is after the Optiq trademark – after all, GM has filed to trademark a variety of “iq” names intended for use with future Cadillac EVs, such as Acsendiq, Escalade IQ, Escalade IQL, Lumstiq, and Vistiq. The upcoming Cadillac Celestiq flagship sedan is another example of the luxury marque’s new naming convention.

However, as it turns out, General Motors isn’t the only company after the Optiq trademark – in fact several other companies have filed for that exact same term.

Some examples include Siemens Healthcare GmbH, which filed in 2020 to use the term for medical software, and Telestream, which filed in 2019 to use of the term for cloud-based video and audio monitoring software.

Check out the table below for a more complete look at the other companies interested in trademarking the term Optiq:

Optiq Trademark Filings
Trademark Owner Filing Date / Registration Date Purpose Status
Optiq General Motors November 2021 Electric vehicles, namely, automobiles Live
Cadillac Optiq General Motors November 2021 Electric vehicles, namely, automobiles Live
Optiq General Motors July 2020 Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles Dead
Cadillac Optiq General Motors July 2020 Motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles Dead
Optiq Siemens Healthcare GmbH August 2020 Medical software Live
Optiq General Motors May 2019 Computer software Live
Optiq CAO Group, Inc August 2021 Magnifying loupes for medical purposes Live
Optiq Alcoa Inc. August 2011 Windows & Components Live
Optiq Telestream December 2019 Software as a Service Dead
Optiq Euronext N.V. Naamloze Vennootschap August 2017 Computer software Live
Optiq eLumindata April 2015 Computer software Live
AutoOptiq DeKelaita, Penna Omega January 2015 Software Live
OptiqRoute Fiber Logic Communications, Inc June 2002 Network equipment Live
OptiqS Siegfried Peyer AG Corporation August 1989 Filament and yarn inspection equipment Dead

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. Cadillac be Myopiq.

    Reply
    1. Nice! This is the dumbest thing GM has ever done. Management is obviously out of touch and this IQ thing isn’t cute, clever, smart, provocative or anything except cheesy!
      This will be fine cars crippled by joke marketing.

      Reply
    2. Maybe they can also trademark Dipstiq

      Reply
  2. If Cadillac did follow thru with OPTIQ for motor vehicles, does it matter if other companies use optiq too for their particular businesses as long it is not in relation to motor vehicles?

    Reply
  3. This will be the end of GM.

    Reply
    1. What, the name Optiq? I don’t see it as that big of a deal.
      It’s hardly the first stupid car name.

      Reply
  4. It seems logical that Cadillac can trademark the optiq logo they use on their cars. There were there first and should be able to trademark and copyright the right to the name in automobiles and related vehicles.

    Sam

    Reply
  5. When soulless software companies are competing for your automotive trademarks, it’s time to rethink everything. It is a bad omen and forewarning that you’re stepping into the abyss.

    Get rid of the walking dead and bring back the car people, Barra (if there are any still alive which is questionable at this point)

    Reply
    1. Well, Thunderbird was obviously once a car, and Firefox was originally called Phoenix, and then Firebird.
      There seems to be some precedent for overlap here.

      Reply
      1. Thunderbird is a Native American name.

        Reply
        1. Obviously, but that wasn’t the point.

          Reply
      2. Thunderbird, Firebird, Pheonix = brilliant and legendary to middling at worst

        Optiq = just lame no matter how you cut it, let the software goons have it and give this new Cadillac a name worthy of a car that doesn’t suck lest they project the wrong impression out the gate

        Reply
  6. Anybody know what it costs to file a trademark name for an automobile?

    Or just to initiate the process and end up with a NO decision for that matter!

    Reply
    1. Ask Tucker and DeLorean.

      Reply
    2. Not that much and to gm truly peanuts. If I remember right around 500 for the initial filing. I just renewed one and it was 550 I think. They last 6 years (10 if it is after the first 10). As others have said, gm can file for auto class even if others have filed for a different class, like software. There is no conflict. In gm’s case, it does get a bit trickier if they want to file for other countries. USPTO is only for US enforcement.

      Reply
  7. The new naming Structure that Cadillac chose is beyond idiotic….or Idiotiq Lol
    I think the upcoming Lyriq is most likely the best Cadillac in the last 40 years easily but stupid Name.

    Reply
    1. *Cadillac BLS enters the chat*

      Reply
  8. Alcoa developing transparent aluminum?

    Reply

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