There’s no shortage of luxury brands in the Philippines. You have the German big three of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, the Brits in the form of Jaguar Land Rover, and Japan with Lexus. But American representation in the local luxury car market is mostly in the form grey market distributors. However, a recent trademark filing suggests that one of the biggest names in American luxury is coming to the country.
In the World Intellectual Property Organization database, General Motors applied to trademark Cadillac through the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL). The application date was fairly recent too, filed on April 2, 2023. The current status of the trademark is pending.
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But before we jump the gun and say Cadillac’s arrival in the country is imminent, the trademark filing could mean one or two things. Automakers regularly file trademarks, designs, and patents in various intellectual property offices all over the world. That’s to keep a certain name under the ownership of a company. In this case, General Motors holds all the rights to the trade name Cadillac. Another reason could be the American luxury brand is really coming to the Philippines.
There are many possible reasons for the local trademark application, but this one caught our attention for one particular reason. The filing of Cadillac in the Philippines falls under “motor land vehicles, namely, automobiles, sport utility vehicles, trucks, vans, engines therefor and structural parts thereof in class 12”. Automakers file their vehicles under that classification, but Cadillac was also filed under “maintenance and repair services for motor vehicles in class 37”. Does this mean there will be a Cadillac service center in the country?
It’s difficult to come up with certain answers at the moment given the limited information. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting find, and one that we’ll keep an eye out for updates.
