New York Trademark Survey Expert

If you are seeking a highly qualified New York trademark survey expert who can help you develop a powerful case or rebuttal strategy, consider Keegan & Donato Consulting.

Principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato have more than 25 years of combined experience and education in consumer-based survey research and data analysis, and follow a solid methodological foundation in survey design, execution and presentation, including:

• appropriate universe selection and sampling frame
• inclusion of representative, qualified respondents
• rigorous and valid design that proves the relevant issues in the case
• procedures to minimize potential biases in data collection
• use of objective, unambiguous and non-leading questions

Our firm has developed surveys for and provided expert rebuttal testimony on behalf of New York firms that manage some of the largest trademark portfolios in the world, such as Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Day Pitney LLP, Kaye Scholer LLP, Duane Morris LLP, and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP.

Why an Experienced Expert is Crucial

Consumer surveys can provide empirical evidence as to whether an alleged trademark infringement is having an impact on consumers, but these surveys are not typically accepted without challenge and scrutiny. Courts demand accurate, real-world data. If the survey is not based on sound methodology, it may be afforded little weight or excluded in whole or in part.

For example, in Elliott v. Google, Inc., 45 F. Supp. 3d 1156 – Dist. Court, D. Arizona (2014), the plaintiff argued that the Google trademark had become generic because the public perceived the word “google” to mean conducting an Internet search without regard to the search engine used.

Their surveys, however, were excluded because they were deemed to be unscientific, poorly constructed, and not conducted according to generally accepted principles. The plaintiff’s survey expert was also rejected as unqualified “to design a survey or to interpret survey results” [see 45 F.Supp.3d 1167-1170].

The Court concluded that the plaintiffs had presented “no evidence that the primary significance of the word google to a majority of the consuming public is a common descriptive term for search engines,” and confirmed that “Google” remains a valid and protectable trademark.

Methodologically Sound Surveys

Keegan & Donato Consulting utilizes an industry-leading online survey software platform to design and execute state-of-the-art surveys that will stand up to judicial scrutiny.

Our survey designs are probative of the relevant issues in each case, have the ability to target specific consumer populations with appropriate universe selection and sampling frames, and feature cutting-edge rotation and randomization of hundreds of question types with customizable complex skip and display logic when appropriate.

Consumer research studies are a common approach toward proving consumer perception, likelihood of confusion, secondary meaning, strength of mark, acquired distinctiveness, and more.

When you need a New York trademark survey expert, take advantage of our extraordinary expertise by contacting Keegan & Donato Consulting at (914) 967-9421. Keegan & Donato Consulting has designed hundreds of studies across a wide range of industries.

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