CRA provided expert testimony on trademark valuation, damages, and licensing issues in an arbitration related to oral care products sold through consumer retail channels.
CRA was retained by the plaintiff, a global consumer products company which, as part of its effort to obtain regulatory approval for a major acquisition, sold part of its oral care business to the defendant, a competitor in the oral care segment. In connection with the divestiture, the plaintiff granted a transitional license to the defendant which allowed for certain restricted uses of the plaintiff’s famous trademark and logo designs for a limited term. Upon expiration of the license, the defendant introduced new trademarks and logo designs that the plaintiff claimed were confusingly similar to the plaintiff’s trademark rights and represented a willful, conscious effort by defendant to misappropriate the goodwill established by the plaintiff over many years. Plaintiff retained CRA to determine damages for trademark infringement, unfair competition, breach of contract, and other Lanham Act violations. CRA’s analysis considered potential lost future profits, diminished goodwill in the oral care market, unjust enrichment, and a reasonable royalty. CRA’s reasonable royalty analysis considered several benchmarks, including acquisition purchase price allocations and comparable license agreements with third parties.
