When you are litigating a case in Detroit and need a trademark survey, consider consumer survey companies such as Keegan & Donato Consulting who have the training and expertise to design and execute them properly.

Keegan & Donato Consulting offers vast experience and exceptional capabilities in the area of consumer research studies.  We design, execute, analyze, and present the results of trademark litigation surveys in the areas of:

• Likelihood of Confusion
• Secondary Meaning
• Strength of Mark
• Lanham Act Claims
• Acquired Distinctiveness
• Survey Critiques and Rebuttals
• Customized Topics and Issues

The real-world results we collect have provided our clients a foundation for presenting fact-based evidence in support of their positions. We also provide expert witness testimony on consumer survey, marketing and economic issues.

Sound Methodology

Methodological design is the most critical aspect of designing consumer research studies. Keegan & Donato Consulting’s state-of-the art survey designs adhere to established principles that include:

• Rigorous and valid design that is probative of the relevant issues in the case;
• Selection of the appropriate universe and sample;
• Inclusion of representative, qualified respondents;
• Use of clear and concise questions that are not leading or ambiguous;
• Use of procedures to minimize potential biases in data collection; and
• Full analysis and reporting of survey data.

We have developed surveys for and collaborated with firms that manage some of the largest trademark portfolios in the world, such as Fox Rothschild LLP in New Jersey and Philadelphia, Arnold & Porter LLP in San Francisco, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Boston. Our litigation surveys have been accepted as evidence in matters involving a broad range of products and services.

Value of Experience

Consumer surveys are often regarded by courts as powerful evidence of likelihood of confusion in trademark infringement litigation and TTAB proceedings because they provide crucial information about how consumers perceive marks, product designs, colors, websites, and other stimuli.

Courts, however, take great care to verify whether the survey design or methodology was flawed in any way. If not based on sound methodology, the survey may be given little weight. Employing a qualified trademark survey expert will have an impact on whether the court deems your survey results admissible.

In Dardenne v. MoveOn.org Civil Action, CIV. A. 14-00150-SDD, 2014 WL 1364854, for example, the Court placed “little weight on the survey results for the reason that the survey’s methodology was fundamentally flawed in both its sampling and the questions employed.”

In Water Pik, Inc. v. Med-Systems, Inc., 726 F.3d 1142, 1144-50 (10th Cir. 2013), there is a lengthy discussion about why the Court determined that survey evidence submitted by the defendant, “had too many methodological flaws to be of any probative value.”

Keegan & Donato Consulting can provide you with technical and strategic advice; help you analyze the economic, financial and/or technical complexities of your case; help you determine suitable deposition questions to ask; help you prepare a testifying expert for deposition and trial; or critique the potential weaknesses in an adversary’s survey evidence in a rebuttal report.

Leading trademark survey companies, such as Keegan & Donato Consulting, can design and execute surveys that will withstand the rigors of your litigation in Detroit. Contact us at (914) 967-9421 to learn more about our approach and our affordable services.