TVJ was handed back the exclusive use of “Eat Bulaga!” trademark
Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey De Leon have won their legal fight on “Eat Bulaga!” and “EB” trademark.
It was after the Intellectual Property Office’s ruling that the Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE Inc.) has no sufficient evidence on how they coined the name.
IPO’s Adjudication Officer for Bureau of Legal Affairs Atty. Josephine Alon released on Tuesday, December 4, a verdict that substantiates TAPE’s incapability to come up with a sound reasoning behind the “Eat Bulaga!” mark.
Tito, Vic, and Joey, on the other hand, managed to produce testimony and a solid explanation of how they came up with the contested name. This then prompted the IPO to relinquish the trademark to the petitioners.
Part of the ruling states, “Registrant-Registrant, for their part, did not refute nor contradict this statement on how Petitioners coined the term “EAT BULAGA” as title for a noontime show in 1979.
“In fact, Respondent-Registrant even corroborated Petitioner’s explanation by averring, ‘After their engagement, we thought of the name of the noontime show. I submitted several names to Romy including ‘Eat Bulaga,’ which was suggested by Joey.’”
Romy refers to Romy Jalosjos, who helms TAPE Inc. and is the producer of the longest-running noontime show.
More so, the black and white points out that TVJ is consistent to being a true owner of the name, backed by their move to have it registered under the Intellectual Property of the Philippines in February 2023 for Classes 16, 18, 21, 25, 41.
Pursuant to the Trademark law, “the owner from the goods, business, or services of others shall have the right to register the same,” thus establishing the fact that TVJ owns the mark.
Ultimately, the ruling backs TVJ to an exclusive rights and use of “EAT BULAGA” trademark, including its multiple variations, such as “Eat Bulaga” and “EB.”
Here is IPO’s full verdict:
“Eat Bulaga!” prior to the verdict
Tito, Vic, and Joey’s controversy regarding trademark ownership started when they decided to withdraw as mainstays of “Eat Bulaga!” on GMA-7 and move to TV5 for a noontime program called “E.A.T.”
After 44 years, the trio finally bid their official goodbye on May 31, with other “Eat Bulaga!” hosts following their move days after. Such a decision was bred out of an internal conflict that damaged their ties with TAPE, Inc.
Firm with their stand to bring “Eat Bulaga!” with them, TVJ then filed a legal complaint to the Marikina regional trial court under IPO against TAPE, Inc.’s alleged “copyright infringement” and “unfair competition.”
Part of its complaint is halting TAPE, Inc.’s use of “Eat Bulaga!” materials, including its name, logo, and design.”
READ ALSO: Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Joey De Leon File Copyright Infringement Complaint Against TAPE, GMA-7
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