In the latest development to this story.
On Tuesday, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) released their decision over the trademark of ‘Eat Bulaga’ and its abbreviation ‘EB’. The said agency has decided to cancel the existing trademark filed by Television and Production Exponents, Inc. or TAPE, Inc.
According to the office, it canceled TAPE’s registration for Classes 16, 18, 21, and 25, following the joint petition of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon.
Section 16 is for “paper, cardboard and goods made from these materials, not included in other classes; printed matter; bookbinding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery or household purposes; artist materials; paint brushes; typewriters and office requisites (except furniture); instructional and teaching materials (except apparatus); plastic materials for packaging (not included in other classes); printers` type; printing blocks.”
Section 18 covers “animal skins, hides; trunks and traveling bags; umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks; whips, harness and saddlery.”
Section 21, meanwhile, gives rights to use the name for “household or kitchen utensils and containers; combs and sponges; brushes (except paint brushes); brush-making materials; articles for cleaning purposes; steelwool; unworked or semi-worked glass (except glass used in building); glassware, porcelain and earthenware not included in other classes.”
Detailed in section 25 are “clothing, namely, jackets, coats, vests, t-shirts (with/without collar), polo shirts, blouses, jerseys or sports t-shirts, sandos or tank tops, shorts, pants, jeans, dresses, skirts, scarves, shawls, bandanas and belts; footwear, namely, slippers or flip-flops, sneakers, shoes, sandals, slip-on socks headgear, namely, caps, hats, visors, headbands, bonnets, scarves, bandanas, clips, ribbons, hoods, masks, turban, crowns, veils and headcover.”
The petitioners, in their case versus TAPE, Inc., alleged that the company obtained the trademark for both names “in contravention of the provisions of R.A. No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (IP Code).” Furthermore, these were “obtained contrary to Section 123.1 (g) of the IP Code…” The said section prohibits the registration of marks that are likely to mislead the public.
Moving past that, the IPOPHL said that TAPE “did not refute, nor contradict this statement on how Petitioners [Tito, Vic, Joey] coined the term ‘Eat Bulaga’ as the title for the noontime show in 1979.”
Instead, they even confirmed the Petitioners’ statement, which reads as follows: “After their engagement, we thought of the name for the noontime show. I submitted several names to Romy [Jalosjos], including “Eat Bulaga,” which was suggested by Joey.” It added that “Romy chose the name “Eat Bulaga” amongst the list.”
The IPOPHL thereby declared that the TVJ group have “sufficiently established how [they] have coined the ‘Eat Bulaga’ mark and not the Respondent-Registrant [TAPE]…” Moreover, “that Petitioners are the owners, they have absolute and exclusive right to register ‘Eat Bulaga’ and all variations thereto including the subject mark and the EB mark under its name.”
The Intellectual Property Office then granted the “Petitioners’ petition to cancel” the Certificate of Registration issued to TAPE.
It was in June 2013 when Television and Production Exponents, Inc. filed the trademark for the title before the Intellectual Property Office. In June this year, that expired and was renewed for supposedly another 10 years.
Heading to the World Intellectual Property Office database, a certain Marvic Sotto — otherwise known as TV personality Vic Sotto — has filed for registration for the use of trademark last February. Still pending, but Sotto filed for the similar sections as TAPE — 16, 18, 21, and 25. The difference is, he also filed for section 41, which covers entertainment services, which primarily includes television shows.
Similarly, fellow TVJ member Joey de Leon, using his real name Jose Maria de Leon, also filed a trademark for the name ‘Eat Bulaga’. In de Leon’s filing, he only specified section 41 or entertainment services. Like Sotto, his case still remains pending before the IPO. The status is said to be “for further action by examiner,” as of July 5, 2023.
Aside from the IPOPHL petition, the TVJ group also has an ongoing case versus TAPE and broadcaster GMA Network for the alleged “unfair competition and copyright infringement” filed before the Marikina Regional Trial Court. The outcome of that legal battle has yet to be made known.
The debacle over who owns the name ‘Eat Bulaga’ stems from the tumultuous relationship the new TAPE management, now handled by the Jalosjos siblings, and what was then the ‘EB’ production team of ex-producer Antonio Tuviera and Tito, Vic, and Joey.
The said rift reached new heights when the TVJ group, hosts, and staffers resigned from TAPE last May 31. In June, they formed the company TVJ Productions and signed a deal with TV5 to create the new noontime show, which is tentatively titled ‘E.A.T.’ while awaiting the decisions over the mark.
TAPE, on the other hand, also moved forward by keeping the name ‘Eat Bulaga,’ while introducing a new batch of hosts in Isko Moreno, Paolo Contis, Betong Sumaya, Buboy Villar, among others.
Trendrod 