MANILA, Philippines — Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE) filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) and requested a preliminary mandatory injunction regarding a court's decision on the "Eat Bulaga" trademark.
The 53-page petition filed before the Court of Appeals (CA) asks for the annulment of the court ruling that ordered TAPE and GMA Network to stop using the "Eat Bulaga" trademark registrations, logos and names, and airing of episodes before May 31, 2023.
On the said date, the hosting trio of Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon — collectively known as TVJ — left TAPE and began their own noontime variety show at TV5.
Last December 4, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPO) canceled TAPE's trademark registration on the "Eat Bulaga" name. Earlier this year last January 5, news broke out that Marikina Regional Trial Court Branch 273 recognized TVJ as the true originators of "Eat Bulaga" over TAPE in its ruling dated December 22, 2023.
Related: Marikina court recognizes TVJ as originators of 'Eat Bulaga' over TAPE
In a statement sent to GMA News Online, TAPE's legal representative Atty. Maggie Garduque said the court decision is a "blatant violation of the rules and the disrespect of the jurisdiction of the IPO on the pending trademark cases."
The lawyer pointed out that TVJ's prior complaint asked the court if TAPE or GMA committed copyright infringement and unfair competition when it aired past "Eat Bulaga" episodes, adding there was nothing "asking the court to rule on trademark ownership or to cancel the registered trademarks of TAPE on 'Eat Bulaga.'"
"What is needed is for the court to decide if TVJ have copyright ownership over these audio-visual recordings of past episodes of 'Eat Bulaga' to rule whether copyright infringement and unfair competition are committed. The issue on trademark ownership and cancelation is irrelevant and off-tangent in this case," Garduque ended.
Following the Marikina court's decision, TVJ have begun using the "Eat Bulaga" name on their TV5 show and even sang the "Eat Bulaga" theme song in full.
Meanwhile, TAPE's noontime show on GMA-7, currently hosted by Paolo Contis and Isko Moreno, dropped the "Eat Bulaga" name and now goes by "Tahanang Pinakamasaya."
RELATED: 'Tahanang Pinakamasaya': TAPE drops 'Eat Bulaga' name for noontime show