If you are considering the use of a trademark survey in your infringement litigation, a well-designed, scientifically sound consumer research study and expert testimony from Keegan & Donato Consulting will meet the courts’ standards for design, execution and analysis and can serve as powerful evidence in your case.
Keegan & Donato Consulting works on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants to provide research, analysis, affidavits, declarations and expert reports as needed in support of trademark infringement and trade-dress litigation, and has collaborated extensively on cases involving marketing, business and financial issues.
With more than 25 years of experience in conducting consumer-based surveys, the firm has developed surveys for and collaborated with firms that manage some of the largest trademark portfolios in the world, such as Girard Gibbs LLP in San Francisco, Fox Rothschild LLP in New Jersey and Philadelphia, Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC, and Riemer & Braunstein LLP in Boston.
Our Survey Specialties
Keegan & Donato Consulting’s capabilities include state-of-the art survey designs that are probative of the relevant issues in each case, are capable of targeting specific consumer populations with appropriate universe selection and sampling frames, and feature cutting-edge rotation and randomization of hundreds of question types with customizable complex skip and display logic when appropriate.
Consumer Confusion: A primary function of a trademark is to prevent consumer confusion. With a mounting number of brands competing for share of mind in the marketplace, some confusion is inevitable. A well-executed survey can help brand owners and their counsel assess whether consumers are indeed confused. Keegan & Donato Consulting measures likelihood of confusion with both standard survey designs and innovative custom surveys.
Secondary Meaning: Descriptive marks are not ordinarily protectable as trademarks unless they have acquired a secondary meaning. We can design a consumer research survey to target relevant consumers in your client’s market and help you determine the extent to which consumers associate a contested mark with one or more sources.
Strength of Mark: Trademark law protects distinctive marks, and the levels of legal protection are directly linked to the strength of the mark. Consumer surveys can be used to measure the level of consumer recognition of a mark or brand.
Dilution: Trademark dilution occurs when an infringing party uses a famous mark in a way that tarnishes the mark’s reputation for quality or dilutes its strength by blurring its distinctiveness. Consumer recognition of a famous mark can be measured directly by a survey.
False Advertising: Issues raised in the Lanham Act, such as false advertising or labeling, are well-suited to testing through consumer surveys by addressing the ways in which consumers interpret – and misinterpret – names, symbols, and other marks used by businesses in commerce.
Trade Dress: Trade dress, like a trademark, is protectable under the Lanham Act. Conducting a consumer survey can help you gather the evidence to prove whether the trade dress in question has established secondary meaning or is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace.
When your Las Vegas litigation requires a trademark survey expert, take advantage of the extraordinary knowledge of Keegan & Donato Consulting by contacting us at (914) 967-9421.