THE LOGIC OF CONSUMER OPINION BASED ARGUING IN LEGAL DISPUTES ON PROTECTION OF TRADEMARKS RIGHTS

Purpose. The article describes the principles of measuring consumer opinion in the context of disputes on the protection of trademarks rights. The author proceeds from the fact that it is necessary to coordinate the requirements of legal analysis with the specificity of evidence, which are represented by the measured and analyzed consumer opinions. The purpose of the article is to describe the methodological field that can give the rules to study the consumers’ opinion and to use the results of this study in the protection of trademarks rights. Design/methodology/approach. The analyzed principles of consumer opinion measurement represent a methodological and logical basis for the issues faced by experts in the framework of dispute resolution. To formulate the principles, the author uses a logical analysis of the phenomenon of legal fact, as well as empirical indicators of legal fact, by which the consumers survey reveals its presence or absence. Findings. The author suggests the principles for measuring of empirical indicators of legal fact. The article also presents the general logic of argumentation in testing the hypothesis of the presence or absence of a legal fact based on the range of empirical indicators. The potential refutation of the hypothesis of the fact existence is that the lower limit of the indicators range is close to zero (or at least is below the thresholds). The refutation of the hypothesis of the fact absence is the overcoming of the threshold values by the upper limit of the indicators range. Originality/value. The findings of the article are equally important both for the expert community and for the judicial authority. The use of the principles by parties involved into disputes connected with trademarks rights protection can contribute as much as possible to the formation of a consensus area on procedures related to conclusions making.

защита прав на товарные знаки, мнение потребителей, юридический факт, гипотеза о наличии или отсутствии факта