The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the motion for reconsideration filed by TAPE Inc. in the Eat Bulaga copyright infringement lawsuit filed by TV hosts Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon (TVJ) against the production company.
The CA affirmed that the trio owns the copyright of the audiovisual recordings and jingles of Eat Bulaga, which the company used without consent. The appeals court also ordered TAPE to pay damages and attorney’s fees totaling P3 million.
‘For having determined that TAPE committed unfair competition and copyright infringement, we sustain the RTC’s award in favor of TVJ, et al. the following amounts of PHP 2,000,000.00 as temperate damages, PHP 500,000.00 as exemplary damages, and PHP 500,000.00 as attorney’s fees pursuant to Sections 156.1 and 216.1 of the Intellectual Property Code as well as Article 2208(1)6 of the New Civil Code,’ a part of the decision read.
Senate President Tito also spoke about the ruling in a statement released by his office. ‘The decision upholds the earlier ruling recognizing TVJ as the copyright owners of the materials in question.’
The Intellectual Property Office (IPOPhl) favored TVJ in December 2023 and dismissed the trademark registration of TAPE for the names ‘Eat Bulaga’ and ‘EB.’
The following month, TVJ won their copyright infringement and unfair competition case against TAPE after the Marikina City Regional Trial Court ruled in favor of the trio