Attorneys who need trademark litigation support in Houston, TX can rely on Keegan & Donato Consulting to help strengthen their case strategies.
Keegan & Donato Consulting designs and executes consumer survey research studies and collaborates on a wide range of marketing and complex commercial litigation issues.
We offer a combined 25-plus years of experience in conducting consumer research studies in the context of intellectual property disputes and provide nationwide services in these and other areas:
- State-of-the-art survey design and execution
- Full-service data gathering and reporting capabilities
- Pilot studies and exploratory research
- Damages analysis and forensic economic analysis
- Collaboration on complex commercial litigation issues
- Critique and rebuttal of opposing experts’ studies and reports
- Advice on deposition and trial questioning of opposing experts
The firm’s capabilities include developing consumer research studies to prove likelihood of confusion, strength of mark, secondary meaning, acquired distinctiveness, genericness, dilution, and other Lanham Act issues, in the context of trademark and trade-dress litigation.
How a Survey Expert Can Help
Although good survey evidence can be powerful, consumer surveys typically are not accepted without challenge. Courts demand accurate, real-world data, and poor designs and methodological flaws can result in partial or full exclusion of survey evidence from a case.
In Parks, LLC v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 2015 WL 4545408, No. 5:15–cv–00946 (E.D. PA. May 10, 2016), for example, plaintiff Parks claimed that the defendant’s “Park’s Finest” sausages and hot dogs infringed on its “Ball Park Franks” brand.
The Court was critical of methodological flaws in a consumer survey submitted by Parks. It “was not probative of secondary meaning” and “was not directed at the appropriate universe of consumers.” Tyson Foods, on the other hand, introduced a consumer survey that showed little evidence of consumer confusion between its Park’s Finest sausages and Parks brand sausages. Tyson Foods prevailed.
In Elliott v. Google, Inc., 45 F. Supp. 3d 1156 – Dist. Court, D. Arizona (2014), the plaintiff’s surveys were deemed inadmissible because the Court determined them to be unscientific and poorly constructed. The survey expert was also rejected as unqualified “to design a survey or to interpret survey results.”
Cost of Trademark Surveys
Keegan & Donato Consulting’s consumer research studies are custom-designed to meet the needs of each individual case. This often involves targeting specialized populations of respondents and developing unique designs to address the specific issues of importance in the case, factors that affect the time and level of difficulty of executing a study, as well as its overall cost.
Most of our consumer studies cost between $30,000 and $80,000 to complete, and $55,000 is the most typical cost. We work on a fixed rate or hourly basis depending on your needs and will work with you to design a survey that is both reliable and within your budget. We will always provide you with an estimate of project costs prior to engagement.
If you are a trademark attorney whose litigation in Houston calls for a survey expert, take advantage of support from Keegan & Donato Consulting. We can deliver persuasive survey evidence that will stand up to judicial scrutiny. Contact us at (914) 967-9421 to learn more about our affordable services.