When you need the services of a highly qualified trademark survey company, consider Keegan & Donato Consulting. Our experience in survey design and execution, consumer research, and analytical expertise, can help law firms and their clients prevail in IP disputes.
Keegan & Donato Consulting provides service to attorneys practicing in federal and state courts, before arbitration panels, the TTAB, the NAD, and other specialty venues. We offer clients more than 30 combined years of proven survey methodologies, deep operational insight, and broad industry experience.
Mr. Keegan is an AMA Professional Certified Marketer and has worked with top brands as a marketing strategist helping to position them in the market and create innovative online advertising solutions. Mr. Keegan and Mr. Donato have wide-ranging skills and tools that can help you strengthen your case.
We will:
- execute surveys with rigorous methodological principles
- document and support our choice of survey questions and sample methods
- minimize the possibility of bias
- carefully analyze the data
- support the results with knowledgeable, reliable expert testimony
What Consumer Surveys Can Measure
Surveys can provide evidence of infringement and measure many issues related to intellectual property matters.
Likelihood of confusion: One of the main purposes of a trademark is to prevent consumer confusion. A well-designed survey from Keegan & Donato Consulting can help you assess whether consumers are indeed confused.
Secondary meaning: Descriptive marks are not typically protectable as trademarks unless they have acquired a secondary meaning. A consumer survey can help you determine whether a mark is no longer descriptive and is now a distinct identifier of a brand in consumers’ minds.
False Advertising: False advertising or labeling is ideal for testing through consumer surveys. We can address the ways in which consumers interpret and misinterpret names, symbols, and other marks used in commerce.
Dilution: A survey can help determine whether a famous mark has become identified with more than one type of product (dilution by blurring) or harmed by association with a low quality or unsavory product (dilution by tarnishment).
Acquired distinctiveness: When a mark becomes distinctive, it can serve as a trademark because consumers associate it with a particular source of goods and services. This usually happens due to extensive advertising and widespread commercial use and can be measured with a consumer survey.
Consumer Perception: We can test consumer perception through consumer research to ascertain how consumers perceive and interpret specific claims made by a manufacturer on packaging and in other marketing communications.
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.
Expert Witness Testimony
If the facts and issues of your case are complex and hard to understand or you feel a court would benefit from empirical evidence related to matters in your case, you may need an expert. Mr. Keegan and Mr. Donato have extensive experience as expert witnesses in many high-profile cases that involved consumer behavior and trademark infringement.
If you are interested in conducting consumer surveys for your IP disputes, consider Keegan & Donato Consulting. Call us at (914) 967-9421 to learn more about our capabilities.