Secondary Meaning Expert Witnesses

Los Angeles, California

Industrial Design, Intellectual Property - Design, Design Patent Infringement, Design Patent Validity, Utility Patent Infringement, Utility Patent Validity, Patent Litigation, Trade Dress Infringement, Trade Dress, Secondary Meaning, Functionality, Likelihood of Confusion, Product Design, Industrial Design

Formerly a corporate lawyer, I graduated Harvard Law School and later earned a Master's in Industrial Design at Pratt Institute. From toys to complex medical devices, I've spent the past 28 years guiding innovation through strategic product development, and have helped hundreds of clients bridge the elusive gap between creative insight and commercial success. As design consultant to a broad range of markets and industries, I keep my finger on the pulse of critical trends in consumer electronics, medical devices, transportation, IOT, toys, and a host of other product categories. With clients including LG Electronics, Swingline, Kimberly Clark, Olympus, Qualcomm, Novartis, Fisher Price, Blackberry, Dell, Intel, Disney and Hallmark, I bring that foundation of understanding to my work as design expert witness, and it has proven invaluable to developing effective litigation strategies and legal arguments. Designers think in such a unique way that it's been coined “Design Thinking,” whi...

Burlington, Massachusetts

Marketing, Advertising - Survey research, Lanham Act, trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, likelihood of confusion, dilution, secondary meaning, genericness, false/deceptive advertising, class action, Intellectual property

Federal and state level qualified consumer survey expert with 30 years market research experience. Principal at Applied Marketing Science, Inc., a full-service market research and consulting firm. Mr. Sowers has served as a testifying expert and submitted reports to Federal and State Courts, as well the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, in a variety of litigation matters on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. He has personally designed and conducted thousands of market research surveys across a broad range of modalities and a broad range of populations. Mr. Sowers hosts an annual CLE accredited webinar on survey evidence in Intellectual Property and serves as an editor for The Trademark Reporter. His expert services include survey design, implementation and analysis, expert report preparation, critique of opposing expert reports, expert testimony, guidance on the deposition and trial questioning of opposing expert witnesses.

Dallas, Texas

Marketing, Advertising - Trademark Survey, Advertising Survey, Consumer Survey (Lanham Act - Likelihood of Confusion, Secondary Meaning, Genericness, Fame, Dilution, Advertising), Class Action, Intellectual Property, Consumer Behavior, Licensing, Deceptive Trade Practices, Fraudulent Business Practices, Rebuttal

RETAINED BY 200+ LAW FIRMS. COURT PROVEN. Ms. Harper has over 30 years’ experience and is one of the few experts who is court qualified across many matters. As a former chief marketing officer for Fortune 500 companies, general manager for a leading global communications agency, serial entrepreneur, and an adjunct marketing professor, she has been engaged by hundreds of law firms in cases regarding intellectual property infringement, misleading advertising, licensing, breach of contract and performance, unfair competition, trade practices, consumer privacy, and standard practices. She has also been a designated expert in more than ten class action lawsuits. As a leading survey expert, Ms. Harper has conducted or rebutted more than 200 Lanham Act trademark, trade dress, and advertising surveys. Since 2005, Ms. Harper has testified more than 100 times in virtually every Federal Circuit Court, along with State Courts, USPTO, TTAB, and in arbitrations through both AAA and JAMS. 2023 C...