When you need a trademark survey, it is important to choose a company that will meet the courts’ standards for survey design, methodology and execution. Keegan & Donato Consulting can help.
The principals of Keegan & Donato Consulting – Mark Keegan and Tony Donato – have over 25 years of combined expertise in designing, executing and critiquing consumer research studies in the context of litigation, and possess an unusual mix of strategic and analytical skills.
The firm has designed hundreds of studies across a wide range of industries to test a wide variety of Lanham Act claims, including likelihood of confusion, strength of mark, acquired distinctiveness, false designation of origin, trade dress infringement, and a wide range of other issues, including damages analysis, forensic economic analysis, and related areas.
Our Capabilities
Surveys in trademark matters are complex and required to meet strict standards:
- The survey population must be properly chosen and defined and utilize a sample that accurately represents the population.
- The questions asked must be clear, concise and unambiguous.
- The data must be accurately collected and reported.
- The data must be analyzed against statistical principles.
- The survey process must be conducted with a goal of maintaining objectivity.
Keegan & Donato Consulting obtains survey samples from prominent marketing research companies that are top providers of survey sample in the U.S. and maintain multi-million-member online consumer panels.
Our goal is to obtain high quality information that is a representative sample of the targeted population, and we have stringent procedures in place to minimize potential biases in data collection.
Because the circumstances of each case are unique, we work closely with our clients to understand the key issues driving their cases. This enables us to maximize the value of the consumer survey evidence to their overall case strategies. Our state-of-the art survey designs employ both classic survey designs and innovative custom survey designs to suit our clients’ needs.
Keegan & Donato Consulting has been engaged by leading IP litigators across the nation, such as SmithAmundsen LLC in Chicago, Schepisi & McLaughlin, P.A. in New Jersey, Irell & Manella LLP in Los Angeles, Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, DC, and Cooley LLP in San Diego.
Why Hire a Survey Expert?
Consumer research surveys are highly vulnerable to criticism, and courts take care to verify whether the survey design or methodology was flawed in any way. Issues surrounding the selection of sample, interviewer bias, or suggestive wording may cause a judge to discount all or part of a survey.
In Water Pik, Inc. v. Med-Systems, Inc., 726 F.3d 1142, 1144-50 (10th Cir. 2013), for example, there is a lengthy discussion about why the Court determined that survey evidence submitted by the defendant in this trademark infringement and unfair competition case, “had too many methodological flaws to be of any probative value.”
Keegan & Donato Consulting’s trademark survey methodology will stand up to judicial scrutiny. Get in touch with us today at (914) 967-9421. We can work within your budget to deliver the survey evidence you need.