When you are looking for an experienced trademark survey firm to conduct IP research or to assist with your legal cases, Keegan & Donato Consulting has the necessary strategic and analytical skills to provide the independent consumer-based survey research you need.
Keegan & Donato Consulting, located in Rye, New York, is a specialty research consultancy that serves attorneys and their clients. We work on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants to provide independent and reliable consumer-based survey research solutions.
Our methodologically sound consumer surveys have been accepted as evidence in federal and state courts, at arbitration, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and the NAB, and we have testified extensively at deposition and at trial.
If you need a state-of-the-art trademark survey, a pilot study on logo similarity, or an exhaustive review of a product line, we can deliver intelligence quickly and within a wide range of budgets.
How Keegan & Donato Consulting Can Help
A well-designed consumer research study can provide empirical evidence on the issue of whether an alleged trademark infringement is having a real-world impact on consumers.
Keegan & Donato Consulting specializes in a wide range of trademark and trade dress analyses and surveys, including:
- Likelihood of Confusion –We measure likelihood of confusion through accepted survey designs and by crafting innovative custom surveys to determine whether or not consumers are confused by a party’s use of a contested mark.
- Secondary Meaning – Descriptive marks are not ordinarily protectable as trademarks. If they have acquired a secondary meaning, however, they may be eligible for protection. Survey evidence is a common way of proving secondary meaning, a crucial step in trademark litigation.
- Acquired Distinctiveness– Consumer research data can assist in proving that your client’s mark has achieved acquired distinctiveness and is not likely to cause confusion about the origin of goods or services associated with the mark.
- Dilution –Consumer recognition of a famous mark can be measured directly by a survey. Because there are a variety of approaches to substantiating a claim of dilution, we work closely with clients to understand the fundamental issues of their unique cases.
- False Advertising –Issues raised in the Lanham Act, such as misleading advertising or labeling, are particularly well-suited to testing through consumer research by addressing the ways in which consumers interpret—and misinterpret—names, symbols, and other marks used by businesses in commerce.
There are also a variety of other situations where our consumer research studies may prove useful, including:
- Class actions brought by consumers under deceptive trade practice and unfair competition laws
- Challenges by a competitor before the National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus
- Actions initiated by the NAD against advertisers
- Actions initiated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for deceptive labeling and advertising
- Challenges brought by the Federal Trade Commission under the FTC Act for unfair and deceptive acts and practices (including deceptive marks)
As you consider trademark survey firms for IP research or help with your legal cases, get in touch with Keegan & Donato Consulting at (914) 967-9421 to take advantage of our extensive knowledge and expertise.