How To Do An IP Survey Without Giving Away The Store

There is a widely held myth that doing surveys for IP litigation  cases is dreadfully expensive. That simply is not so — but it does require the attorney to possess  awareness and knowledge of the survey process.

Surveys can indeed be expensive  in some cases, but in other cases they can be extremely reasonable.  The key is to understand:

1. The survey process.
2. Precisely what needs to be proved or disproved.
3. Who specifically is the target market.
4. What are the buyer behavior dynamics
5. What are the channels of trade

In general, consumer surveys for products marketed to the general population are inexpensive.  Also, telephone surveys to targeted markets that are easily reachable are likewise inexpensive.  Costs accelerate when target markets become smaller and more difficult to access. 

Mall intercept and telephone surveys are the least expensive.  Pre-recruit surveys tend to be the most expensive.  On-location research need not be terribly expensive but it requires larger incentives and cumbersome approvals.  Telephone/Internet combination surveys tend to me more pricy because the respondent needs to be able to access the Internet and go to a Web site.  Pure e-mail/Internet surveys are moderately expensive but incur additiona...