MMR Strategy Group provides surveys to measure genericness in matters that involve trademarks or trade dress.
The methods to measure genericness include the Teflon survey and the Thermos survey. Each of these survey formats has its merits, and might be appropriate in some cases, but many recent surveys conducted in genericness matters have used the Teflon survey format.
Our survey experts may tailor the specific methodology of a genericness survey to the unique circumstances of a trademark or trade dress dispute. Teflon genericness surveys often use a three-part format:
- Explanations and Examples: The Teflon genericness survey explains what is meant by terms such as “common or generic” and “brand,” and provides examples of each.
- Mini Test: The Teflon genericness survey next verifies that respondents understand the explanations by asking respondents to classify a few terms (for example) as common or generic, or a brand.
- Main Test: Finally, a Teflon genericness survey asks respondents to classify the name at issue as common or generic, or a brand. For comparison, a Teflon survey typically also measures the genericness of other terms.