Del Monte Corporation v Court of Appeals

G.R. No. L-78325

25 January 1990

Facts: 
Del Monte received a Certificate of Trademark Registration under the
Supplemental Register from the Philippine Patent Office in 1965 for its Del Monte
catsup bottle configuration. The Bureau of Domestic Trade gave Sunshine Sauce a
Certificate of Registration for its Sunshine Fruit Catsup logo in 1980, which was also
registered under the Supplemental Register. Del Monte later filed a complaint for
trademark infringement and unfair competition  against Sunshine Sauce. In response,
Sunshine said that its logo was substantially  different from Del Monte’s logo and that
it would not confuse the buying public to the  petitioners’ detriment. The Regional
Trial Court dismissed the complaint, holding that there were  substantial differences
between the logos. 
Issue: Whether Sunshine Sauce committed trademark infringement
Ruling:
The Supreme Court ruled in the affirmative. Side-by-side comparison is not the
final test of similarity. The question is  whether the general confusion made by the
article upon the casual purchaser’s eye is  such as to likely result in his confounding it
with the original. Thus, the general impression  of the ordinary purchaser, buying
under normal trade conditions and giving the attention  purchasers usually give in
buying that class of goods, is the touchstone. The Court held that the Sunshine Sauce
logo is a colorable imitation of the Del  Monte trademark. It noted that the
predominant colors used in the Del Monte label, i.e.  red-orange and green, are the
same with the Sunshine logo. The word "catsup" in both  bottles is printed in white
and the style of the print/letter is the same. Although the logo of  Sunshine is not a
tomato, the figure nevertheless approximates that of a tomato.