Patents and Other Intellectual Property
We develop compelling expert-sponsored evidence to evaluate important issues about reliance, consumer perception, and consumer preferences that arise in patents and other intellectual property (IP) litigation.
Our extensive experience in market research design, administration, and analytics allows us to work with clients to develop rigorous and reliable studies that answer key questions related to damages in many IP matters. Our experts and consultants use surveys and other market research tools to evaluate whether and to what extent at-issue features have affected the purchase decision. These methods can also assess apportionment of value of product features enabled by the IP – including through quantification of consumer willingness to pay and willingness to buy. We also use our deep expertise in this area to evaluate and critique opposing parties’ methodologies, often identifying critical flaws that undermine the validity of an opposing expert’s results and conclusions.
Our Methods
We work with in-house and leading academic experts to apply a wide range of established methodologies and cutting-edge techniques, including:
- Choice experiments and conjoint analysis – Choice experiments and conjoint analyses allow for the study of choices consumers make between hypothetical products with systematically varied features in order to measure the relative value of focal features compared with other product features.
- Test/control experiments – We frequently use test/control experimental designs to isolate the causal effect of a particular product attribute or feature on purchase decisions or other consumer behavior.
- Question-and-answer surveys – Our experts and consultants have used traditional question-and-answer surveys to measure consumer awareness of at-issue features as well as perceptions and usage behavior related to those features.
- Third-party surveys – We frequently help our clients assess the validity and reliability of existing surveys conducted internally or by third parties to determine their suitability for use in litigation.
- Archival analysis – The review and analysis of user-generated content, such as product reviews and social media comments, can provide critical context for understanding consumer perceptions and behavior related to at-issue product features.
