A trademark dispute involving claims of forward confusion between New Prime, Inc. (also known as Prime Inc.), a trucking and transportation company, and Amazon Logistics, Inc., Amazon.com Services LLC, and Amazon Technologies, Inc. (collectively, “Amazon”) alleged that Amazon infringed on New Prime’s trademark through the use of the word “Prime” on Amazon trailers. New Prime claimed that Amazon’s branding with the “Prime” mark on trucks created consumer confusion with New Prime’s own name and logo, and suggested affiliation, endorsement, or shared origin.
The Case Challenge
Amazon’s legal team retained our litigation survey and consumer science experts to rebut the plaintiff’s expert survey reports regarding consumer confusion and brand perception. The defense also sought to measure consumer awareness of the “Prime Inc.” name.
The Expert Solution
Our survey team submitted an expert report and testified as to the reliability of the plaintiff’s consumer surveys. The rebuttal highlighted methodological and survey universe issues, including 1) that the plaintiff’s expert surveyed users of shipping services rather than trucking customers, misaligning the population with the relevant marketplace; 2) that the control stimulus was a plain truck with no branding, making it ineffective for measuring baseline reactions; and 3) that the plaintiff’s survey presented the term “Prime” outside of any transportation context.
Regarding the plaintiff’s consumer perception survey, our experts concluded it was neither legally nor methodologically relevant to the matter. The survey failed to assess confusion, fame, secondary meaning, or dilution, and instead posed questions about Amazon’s business model—queries that respondents could answer correctly or incorrectly without requiring a survey. Notably, it also lacked a control group.
To provide accurate rebuttals to the plaintiff’s survey research, our experts designed and conducted a likelihood of confusion survey and a fame and awareness survey. The confusion survey measured forward confusion, meaning whether consumers encountering Amazon’s “Prime” mark would believe it was affiliated with or sponsored by New Prime. The fame and awareness survey measured whether New Prime was recognized by consumers as a well-known provider of transportation, trucking, or shipping services.
For measuring likelihood of confusion, our team chose an Eveready format, which is a widely recognized method for survey research measuring consumer confusion. Respondents were presented with a test image of a trailer featuring Amazon’s “Prime” logo and a control image where the word “Prime” was digitally replaced with “Premier.” A total of 492 interviews were conducted, with 244 respondents being shown the test image and 248 respondents being shown the control image. Respondents were selected from the general US adult population and qualified based on age and engagement with services relevant to the marketplace context.
To measure fame and awareness, we conducted 496 interviews with a representative national sample. Respondents were shown logos for “Prime Inc.,” “UPS,” “FedEx,” “United Van Lines,” and a control name, “Premier Inc.” Logos were presented in their commercially recognizable formats. Participants were asked if they had ever heard of each name and what services, if any, they associated with it. The inclusion of “Premier Inc.” served to isolate bias and measure baseline false recognition.
The Outcome
Results from the fame and awareness surveys showed that 14.5% of respondents recognized “Prime Inc.” as a company that provides transportation, trucking, or shipping services, and 14.5% of respondents also recognized the control name “Premier Inc.” The net fame measure was 0.0%. This result indicated that consumer awareness of “Prime Inc.” was indistinguishable from that of the control, providing no evidence of fame or widespread recognition.
None of the 244 respondents who were shown the test image, nor any of the 248 control respondents, reported confusion between Amazon and New Prime. The net confusion measure was 0.0%. Additionally, respondents independently identified the Amazon Smile logo, including those shown the modified “Premier” image.
Our expert analysis concluded that 1) New Prime is not famous among the general public, 2) there is no likelihood of confusion between Amazon Prime and New Prime, and 3) the two companies operate in distinct sectors with different services and customer bases. The court excluded the plaintiff’s surveys from evidence. This outcome supported Amazon’s position that its use of the word “Prime” did not violate New Prime’s trademark rights.
Trusted Experts in Survey Rebuttals and Trademark Litigation
When complex trademark matters require reliable survey design and expert rebuttals, IMS Legal Strategies is your trusted partner,, with expertly conducted surveys that adhere to accepted methodologies and withstand judicial scrutiny. To learn how we can support you in cases involving trademark confusion or advertising claims, reach out to contactus@imslegal.com.
This case study represents work conducted by the expert team at MMR Strategy Group, which joined IMS in May 2025 to form our dedicated Litigation Surveys & Consumer Science division.
