Trademark Infringement Related to Luxury Goods

A team from Analysis Group was retained by counsel on behalf of the plaintiff, a luxury goods company, in this trademark infringement case in which the plaintiff claimed the defendant, a differentiated products’ maker, used a design similar to the plaintiff’s logo in its advertisement. We supported MIT marketing professor John Hauser in designing, conducting, and analyzing an experimental survey in the matter. A test group was shown the accused advertisement while a control group was shown a variation of the same ad with the accused element removed. The two groups were asked a set of questions following an identical script aimed at capturing respondents’ perceptions of the advertisement. The results of the survey led Professor Hauser to conclude that a substantial number of viewers were confused by the ad and believed the design belonged to the plaintiff and that the plaintiff had authorized the defendant to use it.