Silicon Valley is home to intellectual property worth billions of dollars, including trademarks, copyrights, patents, logotypes, and symbols. Clients whose litigation requires the support of a trademark survey expert will benefit from the extraordinary expertise of Keegan & Donato Consulting.
Located in Rye, New York, Keegan & Donato Consulting is a specialty research consultancy that designs and executes consumer-based surveys for attorneys and their clients across the nation in the context of intellectual property disputes.
With over 25 years of combined experience, proven survey methodologies, and deep operational insight, principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato have expertise on many topics in the areas of trademark and trade dress, including:
- Likelihood of Confusion Analysis & Surveys
- Strength of Mark Analysis & Surveys
- Secondary Meaning Analysis & Surveys
- Lanham Act Analysis & Surveys
- Trade Dress Analysis & Surveys
- False & Deceptive Advertising Surveys
- Consumer Perception Analysis & Surveys
- Consumer Understanding Studies
- Marketing, Damages & Forensic Economic Analyses
- Deposition & Trial Questioning Advice
- Expert Witness Testimony
- Critique of Opposing Experts’ Studies & Reports
We have assisted well-known IP litigation firms, such as Duane Morris LLP in San Francisco, Cooley LLP in Palo Alto, CA, Hogan Lovells in Washington, DC, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York City, and Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP in San Diego, develop effective case strategies.
Is a Trademark Survey Worth the Cost?
Courts can be harsh when confronted with poorly designed, unscientific surveys, and may give such evidence little weight or partially or completely exclude it. The trial court’s post-trial ruling in the following case should serve as a cautionary tale.
In Black & Decker Corp. v. Positec USA Inc., 1:11-cv-5426, Dist. Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division (2017), flawed survey evidence caused the Court to toss out a previous trade dress infringement jury verdict and $54 million award in favor of the Plaintiff and order a new trial.
The Court concluded that the Plaintiff’s proffered likelihood of confusion survey had been “so informally designed and conducted that it fails key tests of professionalism and reliability” and should have been excluded from trial.
“Even if … the survey was not the sole evidence on likelihood of confusion in the trial record, it was the linchpin of Plaintiffs’ case on likelihood of confusion— an issue that was hotly contested at trial. Given that Plaintiffs presented no evidence that any consumers were actually confused about the origin of Defendants’ goods, there is a high probability that [the expert’s] flawed testimony unfairly influenced the jury’s verdict… and admission of the survey and [the expert’s] testimony about the survey was fundamentally unfair to Defendants.”
The cost of most of Keegan & Donato Consulting’s consumer studies range from $30,000 to $80,000, with $55,000 being the most typical cost. We work on a fixed-rate or hourly basis and will help you design a survey that is reliable, fits into your budget, and follows established methodologies that have been approved by the courts.
When you need a highly qualified trademark survey expert for litigation in the Silicon Valley, call Keegan & Donato Consulting at (914) 967-9421. We will help you design a reliable, methodologically sound consumer survey to support your case.