2Cat, 4Cat, 5Cat... The CCMA registers variations of 3Cat to thwart the name of RTVE's new channel

A trademark registration war erupted in the wake of the new Catalan-language channel that RTVE plans to launch for National Day. The state broadcaster registered the name 2Cat with the Patent and Trademark Office at 11:00 a.m.

Five hours later, the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation (CCMA) responded by registering the same trademark, in this case styled similarly to the 3Cat platform, with that service's corporate image in streaming. The announcement by RTVE's press department that the new offering would be called 2Cat strained relations between the two networks. In the case of the CCMA, taking advantage of the development, it also registered the trademarks 4Cat, 5Cat, and 6Cat, as well as Cat1, Cat2, Cat3, and so on up to Cat6.



Although some sources at RTVE claim that the name is not finalized—and contacts with the broadcaster's executives told CCMA officials this—the truth is that, for now, the Spanish television channel has not registered another alternative name. However, it has added TVE to the 2Cat brand, although it has not stated whether the channel's name will actually include that tail. The fact that both attempts to block the trademark now coincide in the registry suggests that the CCMA is willing to undertake a legal battle to block a name that it considers dilutes the identity created with 3Cat.

From a political perspective, the Socialists have the largest group of members on both boards of directors. In the case of TVE, they proposed 5 of its 15 members, and have a governing majority by adding the two members sponsored by Sumar, plus one each from Junts, ERC, and Podemos and the PNV. In the CCMA, of the seven ministers, three are proposed by the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), but they require the support of either the two nominated by Junts (Junts) or the two from ERC (which include the president, Rosa Romà, with a casting vote in the event of a tie).

So far, decisions have been made by consensus, but it remains to be seen whether the conflict over the brand will spoil this good rapport..