Competitive intelligence and patent monitoring: The Why

Innovation doesn’t have a limit, but commercialization might.

Effective monitoring of the competitive landscape is an essential part of strategic portfolio management. Staying up to date with patent and non-patent literature is key to retaining your competitive advantage and protecting your intellectual property (IP). As the volume of available innovation data continues to increase, it is important to consider how expert tools can help you navigate this increasingly complex landscape.

By identifying changes in the relevant landscape, IP monitoring tools contribute to the protection of assets, ensuring that value is maximized and competitive advantages are retained.

Listen to Part 1 of our podcast with Managing IP. CAS IP experts Matt Garver and Peter Mattei discuss the importance of having a strong patent monitoring program.

Optimizing IP monitoring for informed decision-making

Whether you are aiming to gain competitive intelligence, scout emerging technology, develop an IP strategy, or answer questions like “Can we market this product?” and “How long could we drive revenue from this product?” — you need a monitoring program.

IP monitoring involves searches that are performed periodically — daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. You never know what will provoke an idea or insight. If you aren’t paying attention to trends in the technology and competitive landscape, including the publication of non-patent literature that may precede patents by months to years, you risk missing those “pivot” moments.

Monitoring vs. searching

You might start by searching for FTO, patentability, or other specific insight, but the job doesn’t end there. Ongoing patent monitoring protects your R&D investments by keeping a pulse on competitor activity, safeguarding FTO in specific jurisdictions, and identifying legal status changes.

Did a competitor forget to pay a patent annuity payment? That might be an opportunity for you to enter a new competitive space.

Monitoring is an important component of any IP strategy. Timely knowledge of the competitive landscape is key to understanding what is out there and how you can avoid or capitalize on it.