Glossary entry

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;)

Discussion

Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Jan 3, 2020:
@Björn Vrooman, Same to you! And no problem at all! Thanks;)
Björn Vrooman Jan 3, 2020:
Hello Deborah Happy New Year! I sincerely apologize for not replying sooner, but the past 2 weeks have been quite the challenge.

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!
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 21, 2019:
Thanks so much, Björn. I think this time you should enter a term (for the glossary's sake), so that other translators can benefit. Plus, I don't know which one of the existing ones to select as "most helpful".....
Björn Vrooman Dec 16, 2019:
Just to add this... ...for future use, from the U.S. PTO:
"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
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
Noted, thanks!
Björn Vrooman Dec 14, 2019:
PS However, what I think would be really helpful to you is to remove "rechts..." when looking for German source material. You'll find a lot(!) more pages, such as:
"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
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
Thanks a million for all these helpful articles! I think I reached a concluson... I had looked at some articles, too, and realized it's more about reformulating here. Again, thanks so much for your time and valuable comments/links. It's very much appreciated! Have a good night!
Björn Vrooman Dec 14, 2019:
Footnote on the first page here: "The writer has had the privilege in writing this article to have had access to an unpublished report of Hiram C. Barksdale entitled 'On the Use of Sample Survey Data as Evidence in Legal Proceedings.'"
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
Björn Vrooman Dec 14, 2019:
In "Polling and Survey Research Methods, 1935-1979: An Annotated Bibliography" (can be found on GoogleBooks), it says (p. 401): "An argument is made for having expert testimony to accompany the introduction of a survey as evidence."
[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...

[...]
Björn Vrooman Dec 14, 2019:
Hello Deborah I did a bit of digging and the first phrase I stumbled upon was "consumer surveys in trademark litigation," which is not exactly what you're looking for but a good starting point.

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_...

[...]
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
Rechtsdemoskopie - (public) opinion research in legal matters (maybe an option??)
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
Another use of a related word (rechtsdemoskopischen):

Ohne klares Ziel kann es aber keine klaren rechtsdemoskopischen Ergebnisse geben.

This is getting wild!
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
In the following excerpt, "Rechtsdemoskopie" is refered to as a branch of sicience... indeed something specific. I have still not found the terms I think suits my context.

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.
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
Sure, Björn, Bon Appétit;)
Björn Vrooman Dec 14, 2019:
Hello Deborah Thanks! First off, I do agree with Phil about acquired distinctiveness; I'm a bit bewildered by his rather long answer. Phil usually keeps it very short and straightforward.

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
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
I had thought about survey, too, @Björn. But the compound term seems to be something pretty specific. Have a look at the introduction paragraph:

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.
Björn Vrooman Dec 14, 2019:
I don't know... ...what's wrong with survey; isn't that what you do in a case like this:
"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
philgoddard Dec 14, 2019:
There is something about those fearsomely long German words :-)
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
Yes, indeed. I hadn't seen it this way! Thanks for shedding some light;)
Not everything is always complicated, I guess, that's probably what confused me, lol.
philgoddard Dec 14, 2019:
In that case I think you're already there. Rechts- is legal, and demoskopisch is opinion research. They're examining both the legal aspects, and what people in the street think. My answer assumed you didn't know the last word (I didn't either).
Deborah Lüdi Reidy (asker) Dec 14, 2019:
Thank you! Actually, I didn't mean to include "Verkehrsdurchsetzung" in the term line, as I already have an appropriate translation for this. What's causing me more trouble is "Rechtsdemoskopische Gutachten"...
philgoddard Dec 14, 2019:
Legal and opinion-research evaluation of ...
I'm not sure about Verkehrsdurchsetzung, though.

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-...
Something went wrong...
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...
Note from asker:
Thanks a lot for your input! Very helpful!
Something went wrong...
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)
--------------------------------------------------

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!
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search