New York Consumer Survey Expert Witness

Methodologically sound consumer surveys and expert witness testimony from Keegan & Donato Consulting can serve as powerful evidence in your New York case.

Keegan & Donato Consulting is a specialty research consultancy that designs and executes consumer-based surveys for attorneys and their clients in the context of intellectual property disputes.

Principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato have over 25 years of cumulative experience in the field of consumer research. We have collaborated extensively with plaintiffs and defendants in support of trademark infringement and trade dress litigation, and on cases involving marketing, business and financial issues.

We have completed hundreds of consumer research studies that have been admitted into evidence in state and federal courts, at arbitration, the TTAB, the NAD, and other venues.  We also have extensive testimony experience.

Why Choose Keegan & Donato Consulting?

Primarily through survey evidence, highly qualified experts, such as Keegan & Donato Consulting, can help establish whether or not competing marks are likely to confuse consumers; whether or not a descriptive mark has acquired secondary meaning; whether or not a mark is famous; and whether or not one brand’s mark is likely to cause dilution.

Expert advice can also be crucial for making the most of fact discovery, framing discovery requests, and identifying issues to investigate in depositions, as well as to identify flaws and weaknesses in a study that may help you refute the credibility of an expert’s work. Keegan & Donato Consulting can provide expert analysis for rebuttal.

Consumer research surveys are highly vulnerable to criticism, and courts are careful to scrutinize them for methodological flaws. Issues surrounding sample selection, interviewer bias, or suggestive wording may cause a judge to give a survey little weight, or deem some or all of the results inadmissible.

Consider Elliott v. Google, Inc., 45 F. Supp. 3d 1156 – Dist. Court, D. Arizona (2014), wherein 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” [see 45 F.Supp.3d 1167-1170].

Choose a qualified survey expert who will be able to withstand cross-examination and explain his or her survey methodology in a clear and concise manner.

Mark Keegan brings extensive experience to Keegan & Donato Consulting, having spent more than a decade formulating case strategies in complex litigation. As a founding partner, Mr. Keegan has consulted on many different litigation issues ranging from marketing and international business to consumer research for Lanham Act claims. He is licensed to practice law in New York and Connecticut and is an AMA-designated Professional Certified Marketer.

Tony Donato has served as a consultant in complex litigation matters since 2004 and has a background in marketing, intellectual property, and consumer behavior cases covering trademark, copyright, best efforts, advertising, consumer surveys, business damages, and business marketing ethics. Mr. Donato received a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University and has a strong analytical background.

Whether you need a consumer survey to strengthen your New York case or an expert witness to critique an opponent’s study, consider an experienced company like Keegan & Donato Consulting. Contact us at (914) 967-9421 to learn more about our services.

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