TAPE seeks TRO vs. court order on 'Eat Bulaga' trademark

Television and Production Exponents Inc. (TAPE) has filed a petition seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary mandatory injunction regarding the court decision on the "Eat Bulaga" trademark.

In a 53-page petition filed before the Court of Appeals, TAPE asked the court to annul its order for TAPE and GMA to cease use of the “Eat Bulaga” or “EB” trademark registrations, logos and names, as well as the songs and audiovisual recordings of episodes and segments prior to May 31, 2023.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) in December canceled TAPE's trademark registration of "Eat Bulaga" and "EB.

In a statement sent to GMA News Online, TAPE Inc. legal counsel and spokesperson Atty. Maggie Garduque said that the decision is a "blatant violation of the rules and the disrespect of the jurisdiction of the IPO on the pending trademark cases."

Garduque added that TVJ’s complaint only asked the court whether or not TAPE and GMA committed copyright infringement and unfair competition when it aired replays of past episodes of “Eat Bulaga.”

She added that there is nothing “in the complaint 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 and Ferre 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 cancellation is irrelevant and off-tangent in this case,” she said.

GMA Network’s noontime show has been known as “Tahanang Pinakamasaya” since January 2024. —Nika Roque/JCB, GMA Integrated News