Trademark dumpster diving reveals a few gems
The news that is not 'right' has uncovered some interesting automotive tidbits while scouring through obscure trademark filings.First, General Motors has patented the term "8 speed" for use with what is presumed to be an eight-speed transmission. Logical, no? That would put their premium brands, Buick and Cadillac, on par with Lexus' newest tranny int their flagship the LS460.
Second up, LLN says that on October 6th, 2006 (whaaa?), GM filed a 'published for opposition' writ through the trademark office for the word 'Firebird.' We have no idea what the designation 'published for opposition' means (is there a patent lawyer in the house?), but LLN contends that it's a necessary step when reregistering a title. This may be what Bob Lutz has been mentioning under the name 'GTO,' but what's more interesting is the 'Fiero' moniker has also been re-applied for. This may be the first step in the General's plan of offering a small, hard-top coupe, but if it's just a Solstice with a fixed lid, our interest is only mildly piqued. Doesn't the name Fiero imply a mid-ship layout? We think so.
Finally, Lexus may not be pursuing the whole perfection thing soon, as they've applied for two new slogans: "The Passionate Pursuit of Potential" and "The Pursuit of Potential." We think it may be best to let our readers do the analysis on those.
Ready, set, speculate!
[Source: LeftLaneNews]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Swat Lax 9:07AM (9/08/2006)
"The Passionate Pursuit of Potential" and "The Pursuit of Potential."
Terrible ideas. I still can't believe that BMW is giving up on "The Ultimate Driving Machine." Brand equity isn't like home equity - you don't get anything for it when you move on!
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glitched 9:22AM (9/08/2006)
Or maybe GM is just protecting its interests by not letting any other company take these, and they wont do a darn thing with em...
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Stoneman 9:21AM (9/08/2006)
Fodder for dumpster driving fools.
SToneman
http://www.stonemanautoreview.com
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beaker 11:28AM (9/08/2006)
FYI: you cannot patent a word. Patents are for inventions. Words can be trademarked or copyrighted, depending on the usage and intention.
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mikomi 9:27AM (9/08/2006)
"I still can't believe that BMW is giving up on "The Ultimate Driving Machine." Brand equity isn't like home equity - you don't get anything for it when you move on!"
BMW is not giving up "The Ultimate Driving Machine" slogan.
see: http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/09/bmw-still-the-ultimate-driving-machine-after-all/
"The Passionate Pursuit of Potential" and "The Pursuit of Potential."
It sounds like these slogans are for their hybrids. I doubt Lexus will drop their current slogan, it sounds nice, that does not necessarily reflect their products though.
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April August 9:41AM (9/08/2006)
Nice ass, the guy in the dumpster that is.
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Jellodyne 10:45AM (9/08/2006)
1. Quick, someone patent '9 speed'
2. I think GM has done enough damage to the name Fiero to preclude launching a new car with that name. Probably just keeping their options open.
3. Both of those Lexus slogans are pretty piss poor. Please!
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Z 10:04AM (9/08/2006)
first you need a trademark lawyer not a patent lawyer
Basically 'published for opposition' means that GM applied for a trademark for 'Firebird' and even though the trademark examiner reviewed and approved it, the mark is Published for Opposition so others may oppose. Trademarks are only valid if the are used ... once the mark becomes dormant others may use and acquire rights to that mark, but basically this is a formality that all registrants must go through.
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jordan 10:06AM (9/08/2006)
The trademark of the Firebird name battle isn't anything new. Mozilla Firefox was originally called Firebird, and ended up getting in a bit of a trademark infrigement argument with another product. Now, if GM has the right to the name "Firebird," this company (or another) can't go after them. (of course, disregard the fact that one company makes a car and the other is from an open source project that has nothing to do with cars or web browsers, because that hasn't stopped them in the past)
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Steve Barns 11:05AM (9/08/2006)
Published for opposition is actually a trademark geek question.
A trademark is published for opposition after a mark is searched by the trademark examiner and no conflicting marks are found. The public, including competing auto companies, has the ability to oppose the mark by showing a preexisting mark that might be confusingly similar to the published mark.
The Firebird mark is for "Automobile hoods, door panels for land vehicles, fitted covers for vehicles, vehicle seat covers." The Fiero mark is for "Decals" as well as " Automobile accessories, namely, badges for vehicle trim, center wheel caps, and taillight covers."
Looks to me like they are filing these marks to protect aftermarket parts rather than in preparation for rolling out new models.
More than you wanted to know, but that is wahat happens when you open things up to the patent lawyers.
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FIDO 1:16PM (9/08/2006)
"The Passionate Pursuit of Potential" and "The Pursuit of Potential."
They must have gone to the same company that dreamed up "An Army Of One".
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Greg A. 1:22PM (9/08/2006)
To me, it seems wrong that GM was allowed to patent/trademark the term "8 speed" because it's used generically to describe a transmission that has eight speeds.
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bartman 8:46AM (9/12/2006)
Someone needs to patent the term "piece-ah-sh*t" so every time someone uses it to describe GM vehicles, they'll be residuals on it....
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Steve 4:46PM (9/16/2006)
Lexus makes some of the best cars in the world and the new LS 460/460L are decades ahead of anything germans will ever make.
Germans haven't even caught up with the original 1989 LS 400, I am not sure how they will come up with an answer to LS 460.
with the new LS, lexus has shown yet again why it is the gold standard among the luxury brands.
Lexus is the apple of the carmakers and mercedes looks like a cheap lenovo.
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Steve 5:11PM (9/16/2006)
Whenever Lexus introduces a blockbuster product which the germans cannot match in their wildest dreams they resort to media propaganda.
In fact, BMW and Benz rely so heavily on media for their image and so little on their product that if the media influence be nuetralized, it will be apparent that they are no better than a bread and butter Ford Fusion.
When you pay 80,000 dollars for these cars you expect them to have much better engineering than a corolla. But thats not the case.
One also wonders what gives them the right to charge such atrocious money whereas Lexus despite being a superior product is required to offer value.
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Joe 10:38AM (9/25/2006)
"The Passionate Pursuit of Potential" and "The Pursuit of Potential."
Great cars bad, very bad slogan!!
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