Kho vs CA
FACTS:
In the case at bar, the petitioner applied for
the issuance of a preliminary injunctive order on the ground that she is
entitled to the use of the trademark on Chin Chun Su and its container based on
her copyright and patent over the same. The respondents, on the other hand,
alleged as their defense that Summerville is the exclusive and authorized
importer, re-packer and distributor of Chin Chun Su products manufactured by
Shun Yi Factory of Taiwan; that the said Taiwanese manufacturing company
authorized Summerville to register its trade name Chin Chun Su Medicated Cream
with the Philippine Patent Office and other appropriate governmental agencies
Issue: WON Petitioner has the right to support her claim for the exclusive use
of the subject trade name and its container.
HELD:
Trademark, copyright and patents are different intellectual
property rights that cannot be interchanged with one another. A trademark is
any visible sign capable of distinguishing the goods (trademark) or services
(service mark) of an enterprise and shall include a stamped or marked container
of goods. In
relation thereto, a trade name means the name or designation identifying or
distinguishing an enterprise. Meanwhile,
the scope of a copyright is confined to literary and artistic works which are
original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain protected
from the moment of their creation. Patentable inventions, on the other
hand, refer to any technical solution of a problem in any field of human
activity which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially
applicable.
Petitioner has no right to support her claim for the exclusive
use of the subject trade name and its container. The name and container of a
beauty cream product are proper subjects of a trademark inasmuch as the same
falls squarely within its definition. In order to be entitled to exclusively
use the same in the sale of the beauty cream product, the user must
sufficiently prove that she registered or used it before anybody else did. The
petitioner’s copyright and patent registration of the name and container would
not guarantee her the right to the exclusive use of the same for the reason
that they are not appropriate subjects of the said intellectual rights.
Consequently, a preliminary injunction order cannot be issued for the reason
that the petitioner has not proven that she has a clear right over the said
name and container to the exclusion of others, not having proven that she has
registered a trademark thereto or used the same before anyone did.
0 comments:
Post a Comment