Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten über Verkehrsdurchsetzung
English translation:
survey [evidence] to establish acquired distinctiveness
Added to glossary by
Deborah Lüdi Reidy
Dec 14, 2019 14:45
4 yrs ago
5 viewers *
German term
Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten über Verkehrsdurchsetzung
German to English
Law/Patents
Law: Patents, Trademarks, Copyright
Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten
Hi all,
The title of the text I'm translating is the above term I know that "Demoskopie" is an opinion research (or public opinion research), but I'm not so sure what role the "rechts" plays in this case. I'm also wondering if perhaps there is a "correct" English (compound) term for the compound term as a whole (Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten).
The text at issue deals with opinion research on the secondary meaning of trademarks and how easily the applicant can associate a certain product with its trademark/company.
Hence the 1st paragraph:
"Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten auf Basis von Umfragen sind verlässliche Beweismittel, um die Auffassung „des Verkehrs“ zu einer bestimmten rechtsrelevanten Fragestellung zu ermitteln. Voraussetzung für die Akzeptanz ist allerdings, dass die Gutachten de lege artis erstellt werden. Dies gelingt nicht immer, wobei es manchmal schwierig sein kann, etwaige Mängel zu erkennen und dabei zu unterscheiden, ob es sich um einen wesentlichen Fallstrick handelt, der zur Unverwertbarkeit des Gutachtens führen muss, oder um einen (kleineren) Mangel, der das Gutachten im Kern aber nicht erschüttert. Dem Erkennen solcher möglicher Fehlerquellen widmet sich dieser Beitrag."
Any suggestions would be so welcome!
Thanks;)
The title of the text I'm translating is the above term I know that "Demoskopie" is an opinion research (or public opinion research), but I'm not so sure what role the "rechts" plays in this case. I'm also wondering if perhaps there is a "correct" English (compound) term for the compound term as a whole (Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten).
The text at issue deals with opinion research on the secondary meaning of trademarks and how easily the applicant can associate a certain product with its trademark/company.
Hence the 1st paragraph:
"Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten auf Basis von Umfragen sind verlässliche Beweismittel, um die Auffassung „des Verkehrs“ zu einer bestimmten rechtsrelevanten Fragestellung zu ermitteln. Voraussetzung für die Akzeptanz ist allerdings, dass die Gutachten de lege artis erstellt werden. Dies gelingt nicht immer, wobei es manchmal schwierig sein kann, etwaige Mängel zu erkennen und dabei zu unterscheiden, ob es sich um einen wesentlichen Fallstrick handelt, der zur Unverwertbarkeit des Gutachtens führen muss, oder um einen (kleineren) Mangel, der das Gutachten im Kern aber nicht erschüttert. Dem Erkennen solcher möglicher Fehlerquellen widmet sich dieser Beitrag."
Any suggestions would be so welcome!
Thanks;)
Proposed translations
32 days
Selected
survey [evidence] to establish acquired distinctiveness
First off, I agree with Phil that (acquired) distinctiveness is the term of art and there is no justifiable reason for changing it. Also, from what I’ve seen, poll is much less likely to be used in this context.
Let’s examine the German first. We already have a translation for the last bit, so the question is what to use for Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten.
Many sources will say demoskopisch, not rechtsdemoskopisch. A Gutachten is a widely used method for proving something in a (civil or criminal) trial but is little more than a survey, or Umfrage, in this case. See the last page at http://www.markenverband.de/veranstaltungen/Archiv Veranstal...
Cf https://www.booklooker.de/Bücher/Rainer-Utz Die-demoskopisch...
The authors of a Gutachten may explain the survey methodology and results, but this hardly rises to the level of a legal review. One of the organizations offering demoskopische Gutachten is IfD Allensbach and their EN page says "surveys for legal evidence": https://www.ifd-allensbach.de/legal-opinion.html
The above phrase can be found in ENS books, though I think survey as evidence, or survey evidence, is more likely. For example, see "The Trademark Clarification Act of 1983," printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary, or the following link:
"Consumer surveys as evidence of trade mark infringement
…In the UK, survey evidence is often used to demonstrate a likelihood of confusion in a trademark action or that there is a misrepresentation or a likelihood of deception in a passing off action. For example, survey evidence was successfully used to support Associated Newspapers’ claim that the publication of a paper called Evening Mail would cause confusion with their titles…"
https://www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2010/master-of-all...
Even in German (and in the text you quoted), "demoskopische Gutachten" are used "als Beweismittel," as stated in "Wettbewerbsrecht": https://beck-online.beck.de/?vpath=bibdata/komm/GloyLoErdHdb...
As said (and agreed) in the discussion box, the best option you have in English (aside from using some lengthy and complex solution) is to rephrase based on the sentence in which the words appear. This is because "auf Basis von Umfragen" is redundant, or, more precisely, an in-text explanation of "demoskopisch" (which you don't translate), and "Beweismittel" shows up in the first sentence, too.
To make a long story short, you could simply break up survey evidence and use either "survey as evidence" or some variation thereof.
Furthermore, "...survey to establish..." is common enough, in my opinion, whatever the context. An entirely different example from another ENS document: https://howlong-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/doe/sws/sch...
I believe the most important thing is to use a descriptor that captures the essence of what is being said, without being too wordy. People will know what you mean anyway. This is why you could also call this a trademark survey, as the following does:
"Surveys to prove or disprove trademark infringement or likelihood of confusion have been used by attorneys for many years…There is a commonly held belief that trademark surveys are terribly expensive. This is not necessarily so.”
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/03/02/ten-things-avoid-trade...
As a book title: https://store.lexisnexis.com/products/trademark-surveys-a-li...
Mine is pretty close to the description in the U.S. Patent Office’s Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (maybe bookmark the manual for future jobs):
"Establishing Distinctiveness by Actual Evidence
…Survey evidence, market research, and consumer reaction studies are relevant in establishing acquired distinctiveness and secondary meaning."
Additionally: "The kind and amount of evidence necessary to establish that a mark has acquired distinctiveness in relation to goods or services depends on the nature of the mark and the circumstances surrounding the use of the mark in each case."
https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TMEP/Oct2012#/Oct2012/TMEP-1200d...
As an aside, the above doesn't mean that survey evidence is unheard of in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mergers-consumer-...
Let’s examine the German first. We already have a translation for the last bit, so the question is what to use for Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten.
Many sources will say demoskopisch, not rechtsdemoskopisch. A Gutachten is a widely used method for proving something in a (civil or criminal) trial but is little more than a survey, or Umfrage, in this case. See the last page at http://www.markenverband.de/veranstaltungen/Archiv Veranstal...
Cf https://www.booklooker.de/Bücher/Rainer-Utz Die-demoskopisch...
The authors of a Gutachten may explain the survey methodology and results, but this hardly rises to the level of a legal review. One of the organizations offering demoskopische Gutachten is IfD Allensbach and their EN page says "surveys for legal evidence": https://www.ifd-allensbach.de/legal-opinion.html
The above phrase can be found in ENS books, though I think survey as evidence, or survey evidence, is more likely. For example, see "The Trademark Clarification Act of 1983," printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary, or the following link:
"Consumer surveys as evidence of trade mark infringement
…In the UK, survey evidence is often used to demonstrate a likelihood of confusion in a trademark action or that there is a misrepresentation or a likelihood of deception in a passing off action. For example, survey evidence was successfully used to support Associated Newspapers’ claim that the publication of a paper called Evening Mail would cause confusion with their titles…"
https://www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2010/master-of-all...
Even in German (and in the text you quoted), "demoskopische Gutachten" are used "als Beweismittel," as stated in "Wettbewerbsrecht": https://beck-online.beck.de/?vpath=bibdata/komm/GloyLoErdHdb...
As said (and agreed) in the discussion box, the best option you have in English (aside from using some lengthy and complex solution) is to rephrase based on the sentence in which the words appear. This is because "auf Basis von Umfragen" is redundant, or, more precisely, an in-text explanation of "demoskopisch" (which you don't translate), and "Beweismittel" shows up in the first sentence, too.
To make a long story short, you could simply break up survey evidence and use either "survey as evidence" or some variation thereof.
Furthermore, "...survey to establish..." is common enough, in my opinion, whatever the context. An entirely different example from another ENS document: https://howlong-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/doe/sws/sch...
I believe the most important thing is to use a descriptor that captures the essence of what is being said, without being too wordy. People will know what you mean anyway. This is why you could also call this a trademark survey, as the following does:
"Surveys to prove or disprove trademark infringement or likelihood of confusion have been used by attorneys for many years…There is a commonly held belief that trademark surveys are terribly expensive. This is not necessarily so.”
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/03/02/ten-things-avoid-trade...
As a book title: https://store.lexisnexis.com/products/trademark-surveys-a-li...
Mine is pretty close to the description in the U.S. Patent Office’s Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (maybe bookmark the manual for future jobs):
"Establishing Distinctiveness by Actual Evidence
…Survey evidence, market research, and consumer reaction studies are relevant in establishing acquired distinctiveness and secondary meaning."
Additionally: "The kind and amount of evidence necessary to establish that a mark has acquired distinctiveness in relation to goods or services depends on the nature of the mark and the circumstances surrounding the use of the mark in each case."
https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TMEP/Oct2012#/Oct2012/TMEP-1200d...
As an aside, the above doesn't mean that survey evidence is unheard of in the UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mergers-consumer-...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks so much, Björn, for all the helpful comments and links. I ended up going with something close to your suggestion."
2 hrs
legal and opinion-research review of acquired distinctiveness
We've had Verkehrsdurchsetzung before, although the asker ignored the answers.
The term in trademark law is acquired distinctiveness, or you could just say market acceptance.
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/german-to-english/law-patents/4735...
http://context.reverso.net/translation/german-english/Verkeh...
The term in trademark law is acquired distinctiveness, or you could just say market acceptance.
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/german-to-english/law-patents/4735...
http://context.reverso.net/translation/german-english/Verkeh...
Note from asker:
Thanks a lot for your input! Very helpful! |
21 hrs
German term (edited):
Demoskopische(s) Rechtsgutachten über Verkehrsdurchsetzung
Legal (Counsel's) Opinion(s) on consumer polling of brand acceptance
May look like a pagan heresy, but the author/ess may have got into a syntactical muddle over how to form a Rechtsgutachten compound.
Also, although past professional GER/ENG translators have often - in the last millennium - fallen into the Verkehrssicherung vs. Verkehrssicherheit trap of traffic safety vs. duty of safe passage (UK: occupier's liability), Verkehrsdurchsetzung does not means road safety enforcement in an IP context.
Legal Opinion discourages an opinion-polling double-up-
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2019-12-15 12:12:46 GMT)
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or: on consumer-polled brand acceptance...
Also, although past professional GER/ENG translators have often - in the last millennium - fallen into the Verkehrssicherung vs. Verkehrssicherheit trap of traffic safety vs. duty of safe passage (UK: occupier's liability), Verkehrsdurchsetzung does not means road safety enforcement in an IP context.
Legal Opinion discourages an opinion-polling double-up-
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2019-12-15 12:12:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
or: on consumer-polled brand acceptance...
Example sentence:
Its consumer demographics and brand acceptance are amongst the strongest in the industry today.
Duden demoskopisch: durch Meinungsumfrage ermittelt
Note from asker:
Thank you! |
Discussion
I'll see what I can cobble together in the next few days, so this is going to get closed.
Also, best wishes to Phil. I hope you all had a wonderful time!
"Survey evidence, market research, and consumer reaction studies are relevant in establishing acquired distinctiveness and secondary meaning...To show secondary meaning, the survey must show that the consuming public views the proposed mark as an indication of the source of the product or service. See Nextel Commc’ns, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., ...(finding survey did not provide evidence of acquired distinctiveness as it was unclear if respondents associated the sound mark with applicant’s goods or opposer’s services); Boston Beer Co. L.P. v. Slesar Bros. Brewing Co.,...(finding survey insufficient to establish acquired distinctiveness where survey demonstrated product-place association rather than product-source association)."
https://tmep.uspto.gov/RDMS/TMEP/current#/current/TMEP-1200d...
University of Chicago Law School: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?arti...
Saw Q about field of science. Empirical legal studies, maybe? Cf 2nd para. at https://ip.jotwell.com/surveying-the-field-the-role-of-surve...
Best
"Demoskopische Gutachten zu rechtsrelevanten Tatbeständen sind in Deutschland seit Jahrzehnten als Beweismittel in gerichtlichen Verfahren etabliert."
https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/9783845252193/verkehrs...
"Das demoskopische Gutachten ist nunmehr seit Jahrzehnten ein anerkanntes Beweismittel in wettbewerbs- und markenrechtlichen Verfahren."
https://www.hugendubel.de/de/buch/rainer_utz-die_demoskopisc...
BTW, there's "Beweismittel" (expert testimony) again. One last link about this:
"In Lanham Act cases, expert testimony in the form of surveys and related opinion is regularly proffered to prove how advertisements or trademarks influence perceptions."
https://www.inta.org/TMR/Documents/Volume 92/vol92_no4_a1.pd...
Best
https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?art...
See also: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1250268?seq=1
Most of what I quoted is relevant to trademark cases, so I don't believe ENS have an established term for this. Most seem to use some type of descriptive statement.
Maybe I overlooked something, though.
Best wishes
[Emphasis mine]
In "Public Opinion Polls and Survey Research" by Graham R. Walden, it says: "Dutka provides an overview of areas in the survey design which must be addressed for the successful use of the survey as legal evidence."
The American Bar Association writes: "Surveys can be a useful method through which to deliver evidence, particularly when other sources of data are not available. Consumer surveys have been offered as evidence in trademark-infringement matters for decades, and are gaining in prominence across practice areas, including patent litigations, false advertising and consumer protection cases, and employment-related class actions."
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/con...
[...]
In German, at least, the "rechts-" bit is not really needed. Here's an example: "Der BGH hat in dieser Entscheidung die methodischen Anforderungen an die Erstellung eines demoskopischen Gutachtens für die Ermittlung der Verkehrsdurchsetzung einer Marke näher erläutert."
https://www.damm-legal.de/bgh-zu-den-anforderungen-an-ein-de...
Not sure I'd call it a review. The institute in Allensbach offers "Surveys for legal evidence": https://www.ifd-allensbach.de/legal-opinion.html
The organization is based in Germany, but you can find ENS who use this as well (or "...as evidence"). Here's a Harvard Review article pertinent to the question: "The PTO might either require direct evidence of acquired distinctiveness, likely in
the form of survey evidence, or at least establish an adverse inference that the lack of such evidence..."
https://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/945_...
[...]
Ohne klares Ziel kann es aber keine klaren rechtsdemoskopischen Ergebnisse geben.
This is getting wild!
Eine solche Aufgabenwahrnehmung ist daher verfehlt und wenig hilfreich, um den im In- und Ausland guten Ruf des Wissenschaftszweigs „Rechtsdemoskopie“ als Teil der Empirischen Sozialwissenschaften zu untermauern und weiter zu fördern.
And, of course, Gutachten is not survey. Maybe it's the "and" that threw me off. Why legal and opinion research? Sounds like two distinct fields. And why so many nouns?
Maybe I just don't see the forest for the trees right now. Dinner is on the table...I'll have another look at it later.
Best
Die Verlässlichkeit und Validität rechtsdemoskopischer Gutachten fußt regelmäßig auf Umfragen bei einem repräsentativen Querschnitt des jeweils relevanten Verkehrskreises, der Bevölkerung (oder von Teilen daraus) oder bestimmter Fachkreise. Die Befragungen erforschen die Marktsituation „rechtstatsächlich“, neutral und auf breiter Datenbasis und vermeiden dadurch den Nachteil eines Abstellens auf die vermeintliche Verkehrsauffassung allein aus der Perspektive eines kleinen Personenkreises. Bei der Gutachten-Bewertung ergeben sich aber mitunter Schwierigkeiten, wenn die Gutachten Fallstricke enthalten, die ohne vertiefte rechtsdemoskopische Kenntnis nicht ersichtlich sind, oder wenn scheinbare Fallstricke „erkannt“ werden, die de facto keine sind. Derartige Gutachtenprüfungen im Hinblick auf maßgebliche und weniger bedeutsame Mängel waren und sind innerhalb der Rechtsdemoskopie stets von großer Bedeutung, auch wenn diesem Thema sonst nicht immer die gebührende Aufmerksamkeit zuteil wurde.
"Surveys are used in the courts to provide necessary evidence in a range of cases. In intellectual property cases, surveys often represent the predominant means by which to gather information on the 'consumers’ state of mind.'"
https://www.nera.com/content/dam/nera/publications/archive2/...
"Acquired distinctiveness is often measured through consumer survey research."
https://www.keegandonato.com/acquired-distinctiveness.html
Rechtsdemoskopisch simply means Meinungsumfragen zu juristischen Sachverhalten.
Best wishes
Not everything is always complicated, I guess, that's probably what confused me, lol.
I'm not sure about Verkehrsdurchsetzung, though.