Keegan & Donato Consulting is a full-service consumer research company that specializes in trademark litigation surveys and marketing surveys in New Jersey and across the nation.
Consumer research is the process of sampling from a large group of relevant consumers and asking them carefully constructed questions to elicit opinions about a certain topic or topics. When designed and executed correctly, consumer research studies yield highly reliable data that is projectable to the studied population as a whole.
Principals Mark Keegan and Anthony Donato can help you and your client design and execute a methodologically sound survey that will provide persuasive evidence of consumer perceptions about products and brands at issue and will withstand the rigors of litigation.
Whether you need a pilot study on logo similarity or an exhaustive review of a product line, we can deliver intelligence quickly and within a wide range of budgets.
We have partnered with leading New Jersey firms, including Betancourt, Van Hemmen, Greco & Kenyon LLC, Pashman Stein, Schepisi & McLaughlin PA, Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, PC, and Notaro, Michalos & Zaccaria PC.
Surveys by Keegan & Donato Consulting have been accepted as evidence in federal and state courts, before arbitration panels, the TTAB, and other venues, in matters involving:
- Likelihood of Confusion
- Strength of Mark
- Secondary Meaning
- Trademark Similarity
- Trademark Dilution
- Acquired Distinctiveness
- Genericness
- Trade-Dress Infringement
- False Designation of Origin
- False Advertising
- Consumer Perception
- Consumer Understanding
Lanham Act issues are particularly well-suited to testing through consumer research. Because the Lanham Act primarily addresses the ways in which consumers interpret—and misinterpret—names, symbols, and other marks used by businesses in commerce, a well-designed consumer research study can determine whether an alleged trademark infringement is having a real world impact on consumers, whether a mark has achieved secondary meaning, and whether consumers associate a particular package design with a single, unique source.
Selecting the right type of survey requires skill and experience. Keegan & Donato Consulting works closely with clients to understand and appreciate the key issues driving their cases, and works to maximize the value of the research evidence to the overall case strategy.
Expert Witness Testimony
When the facts and issues of your case are not easily understood, or when a court would benefit from empirical evidence related to relevant issues in the case, you may need an expert. Mr. Keegan and Mr. Donato have testimony experience as expert witnesses in a number of high-profile cases involving consumer behavior and trademark infringement.
Survey Critique & Rebuttal
With our unparalleled knowledge of the science and methodology behind consumer research surveys, Keegan & Donato Consulting can provide you with guidance about possible weaknesses in survey evidence you are facing from an opposing expert and help you refute its credibility.
For example, did the survey target the appropriate universe of consumers? Do the survey results accurately reflect the demographics of purchasers of product in question? Is the scope of the claim regional? Does the study represent consumers in the right geographical areas? Was the sample size large enough to convey reliability to a judge or jury?
Experienced consumer survey companies can provide research, analysis, affidavits, declarations and expert reports for clients in New Jersey and throughout the U.S. in support of trademark infringement, trade-dress litigation, and marketing, business and financial issues. Call Keegan & Donato Consulting today at (914) 967-9421 to find out more about how we can work with you.