TAPE Inc. appeals IPO's decision to cancel 'Eat Bulaga!' trademark, asks for respect
Production company TAPE Inc. is appealing the decision of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPO) to cancel its trademark registration for "Eat Bulaga!"
In a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 13, Atty. Maggie Garduque showed the media a copy of their appeal to IPO's Bureau of Legal Affairs.
"Yesterday nga po, we already filed our appeal. So ito po ang appeal na finile namin," Garduque said.
Regarding calls for TAPE to respect the IPO decision, Garduque returned the favor and asked the public to respect the company's decision to submit a motion for reconsideration on the ruling.
"It's the same respect na kahit po para sa amin," she said. "Hindi man kami agreeable sa naging desisyon ay irerespeto po namin ang proseso, ang legal process, at magfa-file po kami ng appeal."
In the meantime, TAPE is still keen on using "Eat Bulaga!" Garduque noted that the IPO decision didn’t explicitly prohibit TAPE from using “Eat Bulaga” or “E.B.”
“Wala pong nakalagay doon na dahil sa desisyon na ito ay pinagbabawalan na namin ang TAPE Inc. na gamitin ang Eat Bulaga,” Garduque said. “You can read the decision and it’s nowhere to be found… Dahil sa wala pong nakalagay na ganun ay susundin lang po namin kung ano ang nasa desisyon.”
She pointed out that the IPO website still indicates that TAPE Inc. owns the “Eat Bulaga!” trademark.
“Until such time na may pinal na decision na di namin ito pwedeng gamitin, saka lang po 'di pwedeng gamitin,” she said.
In a decision on Dec. 5, the IPO ruled that Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey De Leon, collectively known as TVJ, came up with the name and have the "absolute and exclusive right to register" the “Eat Bulaga!” or “E.B.” trademark.
TAPE, meanwhile, failed to sufficiently explain how it owns the “Eat Bulaga!” name, according to the IPO.
De Leon’s trademark registration for “Eat Bulaga!” is still pending.
Last June, the TVJ camp filed copyright infringement and unfair competition cases against TAPE and GMA Network, which airs the show, before the Marikina Regional Trial Court.
It asked the court to issue an injunction to stop TAPE from replaying Eat Bulaga! episodes, segments, and audio-visual recordings done before May 31—when they parted ways with the company—and using the name “Eat Bulaga.” The decision may come out in January 2024.
Should the court rule in favor of TVJ, it can use “Eat Bulaga!” again instead of “E.A.T.,” its TV show on TV5.
TVJ announced they have parted ways with the EB producers last May 31 after rumors about an Eat Bulaga! rebranding—and the trio getting fired—broke out amid financial losses. After the announcement, staff members, including hosts, writers, sales, production, and cameramen, tendered their resignation.
Eat Bulaga! went on with its live airing and introduced a new set of hosts on June 5, while TVJ and other Dabarkads joined TV5 and aired E.A.T. on July 1.