When you need the services of a highly qualified trademark infringement expert witness, Keegan & Donato Consulting can help you strengthen your case. We will work within your budget to deliver the assistance you need.
About Us
Keegan & Donato Consulting, located in Rye, New York, is a specialty research consultancy that designs and executes consumer-based surveys for attorneys and their clients in the context of intellectual property disputes.
Principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato rely on 25+ years of proven survey methodologies, deep operational insight, and vast industry experience, to provide expert research, analysis, affidavits and reports on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants in support of trademark infringement litigation.
The firm’s nationwide services include these and other areas:
- State-of-the-art survey design and execution
- Full-service data gathering and reporting capabilities
- Damages analysis and forensic economic analysis
- Collaboration on complex commercial litigation issues
- Critique and rebuttal of opposing experts’ studies and reports
- Advice on questioning of opposing experts at deposition and trial
- Expert witness testimony on consumer survey, marketing & economic issues
How to Find a Qualified Expert Witness
Experts can play different roles, so it’s important to identify your specific goals. First, decide if you are looking for a specific methodological approach, such as a statistical analysis to assess damages or an assessment of a brand’s competition.
Next, look at each firm’s experience and credentials. Ask about cases in which they have offered expert testimony to find out if any were similar to your case and whether any of their testimony was excluded. Find out what the firms that hired them thought about their work. Interview each candidate to determine if they fully understand the issues in your case.
The Perils of Not Hiring a Qualified Expert
The following example illustrates the importance of choosing an experienced expert witness who is capable of explaining his or her methodology in a clear and concise manner and able to withstand cross-examination.
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 its claim of likelihood of confusion, the plaintiff hired a consultant who purported to be an expert in marketing, marketing research, and conducting market surveys, but whose qualifications and capabilities turned out to be inadequate.
The Court determined the expert was “not qualified to present his proffered opinions” and excluded the survey results in their entirety, 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.”
When you need the services of a highly qualified trademark infringement expert witness, call (914) 967-9421 or contact us here to find out how Keegan & Donato Consulting can help.