When it comes to protecting your brand, the Lanham Act can be a powerful tool. This federal law prohibits false advertising and trademark infringement, giving businesses a means for defending their intellectual property rights. To prevail in court, strengthening your Lanham Act claims with consumer surveys from Keegan & Donato Consulting will be beneficial.
Keegan & Donato Consulting is a specialty research consultancy and a leading firm in the field of trademark litigation. We provide expert research, analysis, affidavits, and reports on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants to attorneys practicing in state and federal courts, before arbitration panels, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), NAD, and other specialty venues.
Our services include these and other areas:
- State-of-the-art design and execution of trademark litigation surveys, including likelihood of confusion, secondary meaning, strength of mark, acquired distinctiveness, Lanham Act claims, and others
- Full-service data gathering and reporting capabilities
- Damages analysis and forensic economic analysis
- Pilot studies and exploratory research
- Collaboration on complex commercial litigation issues
- Critique and rebuttal of opposing experts’ studies and reports
- Advice on questioning of opposing experts in deposition and at trial
- Expert witness testimony on consumer surveys, marketing & economic issues
Different types of consumer surveys can be used in Lanham Act cases, including:
Likelihood of confusion surveys: These surveys are designed to measure whether consumers are likely to be confused about the source of two competing products or services.
Dilution surveys: If a trademark is not adequately distinctive, survey evidence can be used to measure the degree of similarity between two marks. We can also measure the degree of recognition in the minds of consumers.
False advertising surveys: These surveys measure how consumers interpret—and misinterpret—names, symbols, and other marks used by businesses in commerce. The evidence derived can be very persuasive.
How an Expert Can Help
Trial judges closely scrutinize all proffered expert testimony. When surveys are not conducted by trained independent experts using sound methodologies, the court may find them to be of limited value and give them little or no weight.
In Dardenne v. MoveOn.org Civil Action, CIV. A. 14-00150-SDD, 2014 WL 1364854, for example, the Court placed “little weight on the survey results for the reason that the survey’s methodology was fundamentally flawed in both its sampling and the questions employed.”
Principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato offer an extraordinary combination of 30+ years of combined experience and impeccable credentials in consumer-based survey research and data analysis, and follow a solid methodological foundation in survey design, execution and presentation. We can deliver intelligence quickly and within a wide range of budgets.
We have been engaged by leading IP litigators, including Schepisi & McLaughlin, PA in New Jersey, Mandel & Iola LLP in San Diego, Riemer & Braunstein LLP in Boston, Girard Gibbs LLP in San Francisco, and Day Pitney LLP in New York City.
Final Thoughts
If you are interested in strengthening your Lanham Act claim, consider working with Keegan & Donato Consulting who can help you navigate the complexities of consumer surveys and other types of evidence to build a strong case. Get in touch with us today at (914) 967-9421.