If you are a trademark owner, or have received a complaint about trademark infringement, you may be interested in consumer surveys that could strengthen your case. Keegan & Donato Consulting can quickly deliver the intelligence you need within a wide range of budgets.
Keegan & Donato Consulting is a specialty research consultancy and one of the most experienced companies in the field of trademark litigation.
Principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato have a combined 25-plus years of industry experience and provide expert research, analysis, affidavits and reports on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants in support of trademark infringement litigation.
Issues That Can Be Measured by Trademark Surveys
Surveys can be very useful in attempting to measure a number of issues related to intellectual property matters and provide evidence of infringement.
Likelihood of confusion is a common issue addressed by consumer survey research. A well-designed survey can provide direct scientific evidence of the extent to which consumers believe there is a relationship between the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s mark, brand, or product.
Secondary meaning, which occurs when consumers associate an otherwise descriptive mark with a single source, can be measured by means of a consumer research study, and may provide a strong indication that a mark is no longer descriptive and has become a distinctive identifier of a brand in the minds of consumers.
Trademark dilution occurs when an infringing party uses a famous mark in a way that tarnishes the mark’s reputation for quality or dilutes its strength by blurring its distinctiveness. Consumer recognition of a famous mark can be measured directly by a survey.
Acquired distinctiveness can be measured with consumer survey research. When a mark acquires distinctiveness, it becomes capable of serving as a trademark by associating in the mind of consumers with a particular source of goods and services. This usually happens as 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.
Cost of Trademark Surveys
Keegan & Donato Consulting custom-designs trademark surveys to meet the needs of each individual case. This can involve targeting specialized populations of respondents and developing unique designs to address the specific issues of importance in the case. These factors will affect the time and level of difficulty of executing a consumer study and its overall cost.
Most of our consumer surveys cost from $30,000 to $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.
Trademark infringement is on the rise. Keegan & Donato Consulting provides trademark litigation surveys and expert witness testimony to ensure that the evidence you introduce in your case will hold up to scrutiny from courts and opposing experts. Get in touch with us at (914) 967-9421 to learn more about our approach and our affordable services.