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Lawyer positive on TAPE's ownership of 'Eat Bulaga' trademark based on recent SC decision

Entertainment | Celebrities

Lawyer positive on TAPE's ownership of 'Eat Bulaga' trademark based on recent SC decision

By Jonathan Hicap

The lawyer for the Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE) is positive that the company truly owns the “Eat Bulaga” trademark based on a recent decision of the Supreme Court (SC).

“In trademark applications, when an entity has prior use, creation, or registration of a trademark and the applicant has knowledge of said prior use, creation, or registration, the trademark application may not be registered due to bad faith, and should therefore be denied,” according to the SC website, referring to the decision regarding the registration of the trademark “Cyma” restaurant.

TAPE renewed the "Eat Bulaga" trademark last June (Photo from TAPE's Facebook page)

TAPE lawyer Maggie Abraham-Garduque believes that the SC decision applies to the “Eat Bulaga” issue.

“Yes, this applies to the application of TVJ [Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon] and now only Joey de Leon of trademark application over ‘Eat Bulaga’ despite their/his knowledge of its prior use by TAPE, Inc. I am happy that the Supreme Court clarified this matter. At any rate it is also not only legal but likewise fair that a person cannot register a trademark which has been popularly used by another," said Abraham-Garduque.

TAPE successfully renewed the registration for the trademark “Eat Bulaga” last June with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). The “Eat Bulaga” registration will last for 10 years and will expire on June 14, 2033.

In the Cyma decision, the SC affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) over the “Cyma” trademark registration.

The CA affirmed the decision of the IPOPHL, which rejected the trademark application of an individual and approved the “Cyma” registration of a partnership.

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