Why Trademarks?
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
CI Sense FAQs
How does CI Sense get its data?
At CI Sense, we gather all the trademark data filed each week by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and organize it in a meaningful way. Unlike traditional trademark watch services, CI Sense presents data with ‘competitive intelligence’ in mind. Using a combination of automated indexing and categorization systems and human brainpower and good judgement, we mine old trademark data and compare it with this week’s filings; we map relationships between data sets to illustrate trends; and we present data in a way that users can truly make sense of.
Don’t trademark watch services already exist?
While CI Sense isn’t the world’s first trademark watch service, the way we organize trademark data is unique. We present information in context within your industry so that you can use it to watch trends and focus on brand competition. Our mission is to bridge the gap between trademarks and competitive intelligence, and our service does this in a way that traditional trademark watch services don’t.
Aren’t trademark descriptions often too vague to offer any real insight?
Typically yes. If you’ve monitored trademarks in the past, you know that classifications are often fuzzy. The categories are broad and the descriptions can be unclear. Here’s where we can help. CI Sense don’t just hand over raw trademark data. We ask the hard questions: what do you really want to know; is there a new competitor in your market; what are emerging trends in your industry? We combine automated indexing and catagorization systems with human intelligence and expertise to provide the context that adds insight to trademark descriptions.
Our legal department already has access to trademark information, why would I use your service too?
Many companies leave trademark watching up to the legal department, but raw trademark data mined by lawyers is rarely useful for competitive intelligence and market research. CI Sense maps relationships between data sets to illustrate trends and highlight competitor activities.
What if our competitors don’t file trademarks?
In general, most brand-centric companies file trademarks. They want national coverage, rights for damages and to be able to prove infringements. If your competitors opts not to file trademarks, that can be a statement in itself. For example, it can mean they’re not planning to compete on a national level—a good piece of information to know! Following trademark filings—and taking note of which competitors aren’t filing—can provide insightful competitive intelligence.
Why don’t you include patent data?
Watching for patents can be a great competitive intelligence tool, but patents have more limitations than trademarks. At first glance, patents can be almost impossible to comprehend. Additionally, there is about an 18 month lag time before patents become viewable. By that time, you may be too far behind your competitors to catch up. That said, don’t ignore patents completely. While most brand-centric companies focus primarily on trademarks, it’s only one component in a full competitive intelligence strategy.
