Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon (Facebook)

Following Tito, Vic and Joey’s celebrated exit from Eat Bulaga on May 31, the question now arises: Who owns the Eat Bulaga brand? Former Senator Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto says producing company TAPE, Inc. owns the merchandise (products) rights while the three of them hosts, TVJ, own the entertainment rights. It was reported that Joey de Leon has filed belated ownership rights to the name of the 44-year-old noontime show, the longest-running of its kind in the Philippines. It’s also being said that Eat Bulaga, hook, line, and sinker, will soon resurface on TV5 under another production company. Meanwhile, GMA-7 has been readying a replacement show, tapping its own artists under its management arm, Sparkle. Network is retaining Eat Bulaga as the title, cashing in on the recall quality of the enduring brand. GMA has been home to EB the past 28 years. Its block timer contract with TAPE is good for another year. There are also talks that Willie Revillame may yet spring a surprise and take over the much-coveted timeslot. Shall we call it Wowowee Bulaga? xxx Seriously, it would be interesting to see how intellectual property authorities and the courts would settle this issue. TAPE had been producing the show for the past 44 years. Does that make it the legal owner of the show and the brand, for that matter? Would TAPE just settle the matter financially with de Leon, who reportedly coined the term? How much? Would de Leon even bother to consider selling out? I asked the opinion of a corporate lawyer, who said that because TAPE has registered its trademark and copyright on the title and format of the show, it will be difficult to undo even while the trademark is about to expire. They can just renew the registration. “TVJ belatedly tried to register ownership to the name. I do not know the progress, though. For that reason, they may not be able to carry the name. “For the longest time, the program Eat Bulaga was produced by TAPE, and having registered its trademark and copyright will work in their favor.” My friend adds she hasn’t seen the registration documents, making it more difficult to give an opinion. The above statement is solely based, she said, on what people read on social media which may be totally unreliable. xxx PASSERBY: After winding up his Denmark commitment for Miss Saigon, Gerald Santos flew to the US where he’s slated to perform in several intimate shows. He recently met up with Lea Salonga in New York, where he watched a preview of Here Lies Love.

Gerald Santos

Gerald is also singing the US national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, at Citifield Stadium in New York on June 29 before the baseball game between New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers. He will be joined by TOFA Performing Artists.