How Trademark Surveys Measure Secondary Meaning

Among the concepts that survey experts measure in intellectual property matters, secondary meaning is one of the more straightforward. A secondary meaning survey typically seeks to assesses whether a “significant” or “substantial part” of the customer class uses a mark to identify a single source. See sources such as McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition for more information on this definition.

Consistent with that definition, a trademark survey on secondary meaning measures the percentage of respondents who are aware of a particular term (such as a trademark) and who associate that term with only one company, regardless of whether they have a specific company in mind. Articles in publications such as The Trademark Reporter discuss this measurement in more detail.

As an example, a secondary meaning survey MMR conducted had three essential questions. After qualification questions and other introductory items, respondents were asked whether or not they had previously seen or heard of this term on products relevant to that specific category. Respondents who answered “yes” were asked whether they associate that term with the products of one, or more than one, company. A follow-up question asked respondents to indicate why they answered as they did.

The measurements from these questions can be compared against standard sources or past precedents, to evaluate whether or not secondary meaning is present in sufficient quantity as to be considered substantial or relevant.

A brief web page such as this cannot describe all of the ways in which secondary meaning can be measured, nor can it describe all the nuances of a secondary meaning study. Contact MMR if you would like to talk about conducting surveys on secondary meaning.

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