Keegan & Donato Consulting offers consumer survey design expertise in Lanham Act litigation issues such as likelihood of confusion, strength of mark, secondary meaning, acquired distinctiveness and trade dress. No matter your budget or your needs, we can help you develop a powerful case or rebuttal strategy.
Keegan & Donato Consulting, a specialty research consultancy, is located in Rye, New York. We provide a complete suite of services, including consulting on litigation strategy for both plaintiff and defendant clients across the nation, consumer research studies, expert reports, testimony in trademark and trade-dress litigation, testimony at deposition and/or trial, and rebuttal of opposing parties’ surveys when applicable.
Similarity and Confusion
One of the main purposes of a trademark is to prevent consumer confusion. When too similar, the marks may confuse consumers into purchasing unwanted brands, damage or dilute a brand’s reputation, or allow competitors to benefit from the established reputation of another brand.
Trademarks can be similar in appearance, sound, and meaning. Similarity is determined by whether the relevant consuming public is likely to be confused by the second mark. The greater the similarity between two marks, the greater the chances there will be confusion between them, and the greater the chances of infringement taking place.
A likelihood of confusion survey addresses the issue of consumer confusion from a scientific perspective, providing empirical data regarding the extent to which consumers believe that certain brands at issue emanate from the same source or are somehow related.
Courts often regard consumer surveys as powerful evidence of likelihood of confusion in trademark infringement litigation and TTAB proceedings. To be considered relevant and reliable, however, surveys must be designed according to scientific and accepted research principles.
Keegan & Donato Consulting has conducted and critiqued hundreds of likelihood of confusion studies across a wide range of industries that have been admitted into evidence in federal and state courts, at arbitration, and to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato also have extensive testimony experience.
Our Survey Best Practices
Keegan & Donato Consulting conducts methodologically sound consumer research studies and expert testimony that will meet the courts’ standards for design, execution and analysis and can serve as powerful evidence in your case. Some of the industry best practices built into the firm’s survey designs include:
- Appropriate universe selection and sampling frame;
- Inclusion of representative, qualified respondents;
- Use of procedures to minimize potential biases in data collection;
- Use of objective, non-leading questions;
- Use of procedures to reduce guessing among respondents; and
- Full analysis and reporting of survey data.
We employ both classic survey designs as well as innovative custom survey designs developed to suit each client’s needs. Our industry-leading online survey software platform facilitates the programming and execution of advanced survey designs, including complex skip logic and advanced rotation and randomization of questions, answer options, and stimuli.
If you are involved in litigation related to likelihood of confusion and need a consumer survey designed to bolster your case strategy, Keegan & Donato Consulting can help. Contact us today at (914) 967-9421 to explore our wide range of services.