Which party has a right to the trademark registration of SAKURA? Will the registration of SAKURA for goods in class 7 bar a subsequent trademark application of SAKURA for goods also in class 7? In its Decision dated 20 June 2017, the…
The copyright infringement case revolved around the question: “Is FSBPT required to present evidence that it is the owner of a copyright over the NPTE questions purportedly infringed?” Short answer: “YES The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT), an organization…
The IPO Director of the Bureau of Legal Affairs, the IPO Director General, and the Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the petitioner’s application for the trademark LOLANE on account of its confusing similarity to respondent’s trademark ORLANE. Emphasis was made on LANE,…
Question: Will adding another letter to an existing trademark make a difference? NO, said the IPO Bureau of Legal Affairs. In its Decision No. 2017-299 dated 13 July 2017, the IPO Bureau of Legal Affairs denied the registration of the trademark “F…
Is the trademark PHILIPS confusingly similar to PHILITES? The Supreme Court said yes in a decision promulgated on 22 March 2017. The case started when Dy and/or Philites filed a trademark application for the mark “PHILITES” for the goods “fluorescent bulb, incandescent…
Beginning February 14, 2017 until February 14, 2018, Philippines start-up companies will get the chance to register their trademarks for free. Through the joint project of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, “JUANA MAKE…
As the Philippine economy has boomed, so has the price for visual art works. The image above is one of the iconic works of National Artist Bencab and is published in his book “Bencab”, but unfortunately, the images in art books, of…
In Taiwan Kolin Corporation, Ltd. vs. Kolin Electronics Co., Inc. (G.R. No. 209843, 25 March 2015), the Supreme Court explained that mere uniformity in Classification alone does not ipso facto equate to relatedness of the goods and/or services. According to the High…
Manila, Philippines- Myphone, the first locally-branded mobile phones in the Philippines has won in a trademark dispute with multinational technology company Apple Inc. In a decision rendered on May 19, 2015, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) BLA ruled in favour of Solid…
On February 28, 2013, President Aquino signed Republic Act No. 10372, which amended the provisions relating to copyright in the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. 1. CREATION OF THE BUREAU OF COPYRIGHT Republic Act 10372 created the Bureau of Copyright and…
