The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) has cancelled the trademark registration of TAPE for the use of the “Eat Bulaga” and “EB” marks.
In a decision dated December 4, 2023, adjudication officer Josephine C. Alon of the IPOPHIL’s Bureau of Legal Affairs noted how petitioners Vicente Sotto III, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon were able to prove that they were the original creators of the Eat Bulaga mark.
“Having sufficiently established how petitioners coined the Eat Bulaga mark, it is Petitioners and not Respondent-Registrant (TAPE) who owns the mark. Considering that Petitioners are the owners, they have absolute and exclusive right to register the Eat Bulaga mark and all variations thereto,” Alon said.
“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.
The TVJ camp said the IPOPHIL decision was an early Christman present for them and the staff of the Eat Bulaga noontime show.
“We thank God for this early Christmas blessing. Maagang pamasko ito (This is an early Christmas present),” lawyer Enrique Dela Cruz, one of the lawyers of the TVJ, said.
“This decision confirms that TVJ are the originators/creators of Eat Bulaga. They are entitled to the protection of our trademark laws. TVJ is Eat Bulaga and Eat Bulaga is TVJ,” Dela Cruz also said.
She added: “The decision underscores a very important concept in trademark law: Registration of a mark does not vest ownership over the mark. It is ownership that gives the right to register it.”
