Reach out to the experts at Keegan & Donato Consulting to explore developing an effective trademark survey for an intellectual property case. We can help you design a reliable, methodologically sound survey to support your trademark litigation.

Keegan & Donato Consulting is a specialty research consultancy in Rye, New York. The complete suite of services we offer include consulting on litigation strategy for plaintiff and defendant clients across the nation, consumer research studies, expert reports, testimony in trademark and trade dress litigation, testimony at deposition or trial, and rebuttal of opposing parties’ surveys when applicable.

Principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato offer over 30 years of combined experience and education in consumer-based survey research and data analysis in intellectual property disputes and follow a solid methodological foundation in survey design, execution, and presentation.

We have developed surveys for firms that manage some of the largest trademark portfolios in the world, such as Fox Rothschild LLP in New Jersey and Philadelphia, Girard Gibbs LLP in San Francisco, Riemer & Braunstein LLP in Boston, SmithAmundsen LLC in Chicago, and Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC.

What Can Trademark Surveys Measure?

Surveys can be beneficial for measuring many issues related to intellectual property matters and providing evidence of infringement.

Likelihood of confusion can be addressed by consumer survey research. Surveys are commonly used to ascertain whether or not consumers are confused by a party’s use of a contested mark. We measure likelihood of confusion with both standard survey designs and innovative custom surveys.

Secondary meaning occurs when consumers associate an otherwise descriptive mark with a single source.  It can be measured through a consumer research study and may provide a strong indication that a mark has become a distinctive identifier of a brand in the minds of consumers and is no longer descriptive.

Acquired distinctiveness can be addressed by consumer survey research that determines whether consumers associate a mark with a specific product and whether the mark is distinctive enough not to cause confusion about the origin of goods or services associated with it. This is usually a result of extensive advertising and widespread commercial use.

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.

Lanham Act Claims – Lanham Act issues are particularly well-suited to testing through consumer research. Strengthen your case with a well-designed survey conducted by Keegan & Donato Consulting, which can provide empirical evidence of whether an alleged trademark infringement is having a real-world impact on consumers.

How We Can Help

Surveys conducted by Keegan & Donato Consulting have been admitted as evidence in state and federal courts, at arbitration, and to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), the N.A.D., and other specialty venues, in matters involving wide-ranging products and services. We have also testified extensively at deposition and trial.

As you evaluate trademark survey experts for developing an effective trademark survey, consider Keegan & Donato Consulting. We can quickly deliver intelligence within a wide range of budgets to help bolster your strategy. Contact us today at (914) 967-9421 to learn more.