Eat Bulaga Trademark Registration Cancelled, IPOPHIL Decision Explained
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) has canceled the trademark registration of TAPE Inc. for “Eat Bulaga.”
The IPOPHIL decided to cancel TAPE Inc.’s trademark registration for “Eat Bulaga” and “EB” because they couldn’t prove how they came up with the “Eat Bulaga” mark. In legal terms, they couldn’t show the origin or the process behind creating it.
On the other side, the petitioners including Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon shared their side of the story about how they originated and own the “Eat Bulaga” mark. The IPOPHIL listened to their testimony and explanation, and they found it believable and credible.
“The Petitioners proved that it is the originator and owner of the contested EAT BULAGA mark. Petitioners’ explanation or story on how initially the idea of the EAT BULAGA mark came about did seem believable and credible,” stated the IPOPHIL decision.
TAPE Inc. lost the right to exclusively use the names “Eat Bulaga” and “EB” because they couldn’t show how they came up with those names. The IPOPHIL thought that the explanation from Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon made more sense, so they decided in favor of the petitioners.
“Having sufficiently established how Petitioners coined the EAT BULAGA mark, it is Petitioners and not Respondent-Registrant who owns the mark. Considering that Petitioners are the owners, they have absolute and exclusive right to register EAT BULAGA mark and all variations thereto,” the court decision reads.
Previously, Eat Bulaga YouTube Channel: TVJ to file case versus TAPE Inc
As of this writing, TVJ and TAPE Inc. have yet to release a statement regarding IPOPHIL’s decision.
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