If your litigation in Texas requires a trademark survey expert, Keegan & Donato Consulting offers the expertise and data-gathering capabilities you need.
As a specialty research consultancy, Keegan & Donato Consulting provides a complete suite of services, including consulting on litigation strategy for both plaintiff and defendant clients, consumer research studies, expert reports, testimony in trademark and trade-dress litigation, testimony at deposition and/or trial, and rebuttal of opposing parties’ surveys when applicable.
we are members of the International Trademark Association (INTA), the American Marketing Association (AMA), the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), the Association for Consumer Research (ACR), and ESOMAR, the leading global association for market, social and opinion researchers, and offer other skills and tools that can help you strengthen your case.
Why Are Trademark Surveys Valuable?
Surveys are valuable tools in trademark litigation because they provide insight into actual consumer perceptions, often when no other scientific evidence is available, and they may help you build a stronger case.
Of course, your strategy may involve proceeding without survey evidence. Perhaps the client cannot afford to invest in a survey. Perhaps your pilot survey failed to produce adequate results. Or, perhaps the trademark survey your adversary presented is so flawed that you hope a rebuttal expert can critique the results without having to conduct another survey.
Regardless of the reasons, it can be hazardous to proceed without survey evidence that is designed and executed by trained independent experts using sound methodologies in a trademark infringement matter.
For example, in Valador, Inc v. HTC Corporation, 1:16-cv-1162 – Dist. Court, E.D. VA (2017), the plaintiff, a NASA contractor, alleged that the defendant, one of the world’s largest cell phone makers, violated its trademark on 3-D rendering software (“VIVE”) by marketing a virtual reality headset with a similar name (“HTC Vive”).
To support their likelihood of confusion claim, the plaintiff hired a consultant who claimed to be an expert in marketing, marketing research, and conducting market surveys, but whose qualifications and capabilities turned out to be inadequate.
The Court completely excluded the survey results after determining that the expert was “not qualified to present his proffered opinions,” and finding that the survey “(1) failed to evaluate the proper universe of respondents; (2) did not replicate market conditions; (3) neglected to use a control group; (4) eschewed the recognized methodologies for conducting trademark confusion surveys; and (5) asked improperly leading questions. These fundamental flaws, taken together, render the survey so unreliable as to be inadmissible.”
Because every case is unique, Keegan & Donato Consulting works with each one of our clients to understand the central issues of their cases so that we can maximize the value of the survey evidence to the overall case strategy.
If you need trademark survey evidence that will help you develop a powerful case strategy in Texas, Keegan & Donato Consulting can help. Contact us at (914) 967-9421 to learn more.