Three of NERA’s survey research and consumer behavior experts will participate in the International Trademark Association (INTA) 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego. Director Jackie Chorn will present a table topic on 19 May and speak in a panel on 21 May. Directors Healey Whitsett and Stephanie Child will present table topics on 17 May and 21 May, respectively.

On 21 May, Dr. Chorn’s panel “The Use of Surveys When Registering, Enforcing, and Litigating Non-Traditional Trademarks” will include insights from Dr. Chorn, an in-house practitioner, external counsel, and a former USPTO examiner. The panel will discuss the utility of surveys when attempting to prove or disprove acquired distinctiveness and likelihood of confusion, among other issues. Her table topic “Unlocking the Power of Surveys: A Primer for Litigators on Consumer Perception Evidence” will be held on 19 May from 8:00–10:00 am. Participants and Dr. Chorn will congregate during breakfast to discuss the use of surveys in litigation. 

Ms. Whitsett’s table topic “Secondary Meaning Surveys in Lanham Act Matters” will be held as a pre-conference discussion. The discussion will cover best practices for defining the proper survey universe, selecting stimuli to show survey respondents, and selecting a control stimulus. Ms. Whitsett will analyze the characteristics of a properly designed survey for measuring secondary meaning, including generally accepted survey questions, common pitfalls, and how survey results can be interpreted in secondary meaning surveys.

Dr. Child will discuss the effects of the rise in popularity of lower-priced alternatives (dupes) across a variety of goods (i.e., cosmetics and shoes) on consumer confusion in her table topic “Post-Sale Confusion: Are Consumers More Likely to Be Duped in the Age of ‘Dupe’ Culture?”