Sentia Versus iSentia As Trade Mark Dispute Heats Up
Thursday 10 July 2014 @ 11.05 a.m. | IP & Media
Sydney IT company Sentia has lodged an opposition to a trade mark application by media information firm iSentia. Sentia, which was founded in 2006, describes itself on its website as “a software development consultancy whose focus is on building great web & mobile applications and experiences”. iSentia is a media monitoring company, which has rebranded twice in the past few years. Originally called Media Monitors, the company rebranded in 2012 to “Sentia Media” and announced a further move to “iSentia” and a consolidation of its smaller brands in March 2013. At the time, CEO John Croll told Mumbrella:
“The evolution to iSentia enables the group to develop management structures that support a business that is truly integrated across 21 offices from Beijing to Bondi.”
As part of the process, two trade marks were lodged with IP Australia in December 2012. The first one, #1532028, is for the word “iSentia” in class 35 for news clipping and media monitoring services and class 41 for entertainment services and news articles. The second one, #1532046, is a composite trade mark featuring a logo with the word “iSentia” beneath it, in the same classes.
Sentia has lodged an opposition to the first trade mark. According to a Smart Company report, Sentia chief executive Michael Cindric believes “the confusion between the brands has had a huge impact on his business and has potentially lost it clients and referrals”. He told Smart Company that in 2012, when the change to Sentia Media occurred, he originally believed the companies could co-exist:
“I thought as long as they’re not in our market, I don’t see a problem. I didn’t think there was any potential issue, because I thought they did something totally different, I had no idea what they were moving towards... It was a bit of naivety on my part, we didn’t object to Sentia Media at the time because I assumed that IP Australia wouldn’t allow for too much conflict.”
Cindric is particularly concerned that iSentia is moving into the IT development sector given that the company is seeking to list on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Sentia lodged two trade marks in September 2013, #1578909 for the word “Sentia” in class 42, for computer software advisory and development, and #1578910, a composite mark of its logo in the same class. iSentia has opposed both applications, with further legal action looking very likely.
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