Hiring an experienced trademark survey expert for your IP litigation in San Jose, CA can increase the odds that your survey will withstand challenges and criticism. Keegan & Donato Consulting can provide the assistance you need.
Keegan & Donato Consulting provides service to attorneys practicing in federal and state courts, before arbitration panels, the TTAB, the NAD, and other specialty venues. Principals Mark Keegan and Tony Donato offer clients more than 25 combined years of proven survey methodologies, deep operational insight, and extensive industry experience.
The Value of Hiring a Survey Expert
Consumer surveys are routinely used to evaluate central issues in trademark infringement cases. Although their introduction as evidence is common, the courts do not automatically accept all of them or accord them evidentiary weight.
The examples below illustrate how important it is to choose a qualified survey expert who will be able to withstand cross-examination and explain his or her survey methodology in a clear and concise manner.
In Troublé v. Wet Seal, Inc., 179 F.Supp.2d 291 – Dist. Court, S.D. New York (2001), the court excluded the survey results offered by the defendant in their entirety. “Given the lack of a proper universe and sample, the poor choice of location, the lack of proper stimuli, and questions that have little or no relevance to issues in the case, the Court finds that the prejudicial effect of [defendant’s] survey substantially outweighs its probative value.”
In Malletier v. Dooney & Bourke, Inc., 525 F.Supp.2d 558, 569-70 (Dist. Court S.D.N.Y; 2007), the Court excluded the evidence and testimony of all three of the plaintiff’s likelihood of confusion and dilution survey experts and two of the defendant’s three experts on the basis that the surveys were unreliable, plagued by significant methodological flaws, and that “any probative value was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice and misleading the jury.”
Our Survey Best Practices
Some of the industry best practices that Keegan & Donato Consulting builds into the firm’s survey designs include:
- Appropriate universe selection and sampling frame;
- Inclusion of representative, qualified respondents;
- Use of procedures to minimize potential biases in data collection;
- Use of objective, non-leading questions;
- Use of procedures to reduce guessing among respondents; and
- Full analysis and reporting of survey data.
We employ both classic survey designs and develop innovative custom survey designs to suit each client’s needs. Our industry-leading online survey software platform facilitates the programming and execution of advanced survey designs, including complex skip logic and advanced rotation and randomization of questions, answer options, and stimuli.
With membership in the International Trademark Association (INTA), the American Marketing Association (AMA), the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), and ESOMAR, the leading global association for market, social and opinion researchers, Keegan & Donato offers a variety of skills and tools that can help you strengthen your case.
Trademark survey experts, such as Keegan & Donato Consulting, assist firms in San Jose, CA and across the nation with providing crucial evidence in intellectual property disputes about matters such as likelihood of confusion, secondary meaning, acquired distinctiveness, brand awareness, and other issues. Get in touch with us today at (914) 967-9421 to learn more about our wide range of services.