TVJ talked about the victory they achieved
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) released a decision in favor of TVJ regarding the Eat Bulaga trademark and the iconic trio shared their reactions.
Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon were not able to bring the Eat Bulaga title when they transferred to TV5 because TAPE Inc. argued that they have the right to use this. The Kapuso noontime show continued to use the title up until now.
However, the decision by IPOPHIL showed that TAPE Inc. has no right to use the title but the show of Tito, Vic, and Joey.
Following the decision, TAPE’s camp released a statement stressing that they will not give up the fight as they are planning to explore legal measures to reverse the agency’s decision regarding the Eat Bulaga trademark.
Eat Bulaga host Paolo Contis also stressed that this is not final yet. They expressed hopefulness that they would still be the rightful owner of the title.
To recall, Joey de Leon has shared several times how he came up with the Eat Bulaga title and this was also published in the show’s coffee table book.
After the victory that they achieved, TVJ expressed elation at this. Based on the article in Bandera, Tito Sotto said that this is an “early Christmas gift” for them. “We’re so happy about it being officially recognized by the government, not just by the people, [but] by law, official recognized ng batas. So talagang parang early Christmas gift,” the former Senate President said.
On the other hand, they haven’t talked about yet the next steps that they will take after the decision in favor of them is released. He added that perhaps they will discuss this after the press conference.
“Ang biro ko nga doon sa mga kausap namin noon sa korte, sabi ko, ‘Ang alam ng tao, TVJ is Eat Bulaga! Eat Bulaga! is TVJ. Kayo lang ang hindi nakakaalam’,” Tito Sen enthused.
Joey said that they do not mind if their show is called EAT or Eat Bulaga. Then, the Henyo Master said, “Natatawa kami… Hindi kami [nagagalit]. Hindi katulad sa kabila, papagalitan. Kahit matatandanm binabastos nila. Kami hindi e. Sasabihin lang namin, ‘ok lang ‘yun. Kami rin naman ‘yun’. Totoo naman. Kaya kahit E, ok lang kami. Kahit A, ok lang. Kahit T, ok lang. Kami pa rin ‘yun.”
TVJ’s legal counsel Atty. Enrique “Buko” dela Cruz said that the trio could use Eat Bulaga as the title even before the IPOPHIL released the decision because TAPE’s registration was not for entertainment.
However, the trio insisted that they would wait for the legal process to transpire. “Siguro pag tumigil na ‘yung gumagamit na iba at nagpakita ng respeto, ‘yun na siguro ang tamang panahon [na gamitin],” Bossing Vic said. He added that if the other camp will show respect and stop using the Eat Bulaga title, then, it will not just be a Merry Chritmas but also a Happy New Year.