Whether in Edison, NJ, or elsewhere in the U.S., trademark survey companies like Keegan & Donato Consulting can work with you to develop a robust case strategy.
Keegan & Donato Consulting designs and executes consumer survey research studies and collaborates on a wide range of marketing and complex commercial litigation issues.
Solid Qualifications
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, he has consulted on litigation issues ranging from marketing and international business to consumer research for Lanham Act claims. Mr. Keegan is licensed to practice law in New York and Connecticut and is an AMA-designated Professional Certified Marketer.
Tony Donato has consulted on complex litigation matters since 2004 and offers a background in intellectual property, marketing, and consumer behavior cases covering trademark, copyright, advertising, consumer surveys, business damages, and business marketing ethics. He received a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University and has a strong analytical background.
As a specialty research consultancy, Keegan & Donato Consulting are members of the International Trademark Association (INTA), the American Marketing Association (A.M.A.), the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), the Association for Consumer Research (A.C.R.), and ESOMAR, the leading global association for market, social and opinion researchers. The firm is also Qualtrics certified.
Survey Capabilities
Keegan & Donato Consulting designs, executes, analyzes, and presents the results of I.P. litigation surveys, including, but not limited to:
- Likelihood of Confusion
- Secondary Meaning
- Strength of Mark
- Acquired Distinctiveness
- Dilution
- Lanham Act Claims
- Consumer Perception
- Rebuttal Work
Our research is focused on collecting empirical data from relevant consumers through methodologically sound, scientific, industry-accepted principles of survey research.
Do You Really Need a Survey?
The Lanham Act is the legal basis for most trademark claims. It is codified in 15 U.S. Code §1125. The issues raised are well-suited to testing through consumer survey research by addressing how consumers interpret—and misinterpret—names, symbols, and other marks used by businesses in commerce. The resulting evidence can be pretty persuasive.
Although nothing in the Lanham Act requires litigants to introduce consumer surveys, some court decisions have drawn adverse inferences from the lack of survey evidence and discussed how the absence impacted their decisions.
In Pharmacia Corp. v. Alcon Labs, Inc., 201 F.Supp. 2d 335, 373 (D.N.J. 2002), the Court noted that “Pharmacia is not legally required to conduct a confusion survey. But under the circumstances of this case, Pharmacia’s failure to conduct any confusion survey weighs against its request for a preliminary injunction. Such a failure, particularly when the trademark owner is financially able, justifies an inference that the plaintiff believes the results of the survey will be unfavorable.”
Similarly, in King-Size, Inc. v. Frank’s King-Size Clothes, Inc., 547 F.Supp. 1138, 1162 (S.D. Tex. 1982), the Court noted that “Plaintiffs did not present to the Court a survey or any other direct evidence of actual confusion. The Court views these omissions as both suspect and significant.”
Trademark survey companies like Keegan & Donato Consulting provide attorneys and their clients with an exceptional combination of analytical and strategic skills related to using surveys in trademark litigation. If you are in Edison, NJ, contact us at (914) 967-9421 to take advantage of our extensive knowledge and expertise.