WILTON DY and/or PHILITES
ELECTRONIC & LIGHTING PRODUCTS,
petitioner, vs.KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS
ELECTRONICS, N.V., respondent.
G.R. No. 186088 | Sereno, CJ. (March 22,
2017)
DOCTRINE:
A mark which is considered by the
competent authority of the Philippines to be
well-known internationally and in the
Philippines, whether or not it is registered
here,’ cannot be registered by another in the
Philippines.”
FACTS:
• Petitioner PHILITES filed a trademark app
lication covering its fluorescent bulb,
incandescent light, starter, and ballast on
April 12, 2000.
•After the publication of the application, the
respondent filed a Verified Notice of
Opposition on March 17, 2006, alleging the
following:
a) It is contrary to Sections 123.1 (d), (i)
and (iii), 123.1 (e), 147, and 168 of the IP
Code
b) It will cause grave and irreparable
damage and injury to oppose
c) The use and registration of the applied-
for mark by the petitioner will mislead
the public about the origin, nature, quality,
and characteristics of the goods
d) It is tantamount to fraud as it seeks legal
protection for an identical mark
e) The registration of PHILITES
& LETTER P DEVICE will violate
proprietary rights and as to the
distinctiveness with the trademark PHILIPS
f) The application will unfairly
profit commercially from
the goodwill, fame, and notoriety of
Opposer’s trademark and reputation
g) It will weaken the mark PHILIPS and will
dilute the distinctive quality of Opposer’s
trademark
•Petitioner answered that PHILITES &
LETTER P DEVICE and PHILIPS
have vast similarities in terms of spelling,
sound, and meaning.
•The IPP-BLA denied the Opposition filed
by respondent PHILIPS and granted the
trademark application of the petitioner.
•The Court of Appeals (CA), in reversing
the IPP-BLA’s decision, ruled that
the drawing of the trademark submitted by
petitioner has a different appearance from
the actual wrapper or packaging, which
is similar with that of respondent’s
registered trademark and packaging.
ISSUE:
(1) WON respondent’s mark is a registered
and well-known mark in the Philippines
(2) WON the mark applied for by petitioner
is identical or confusingly similar with
respondent
HELD:
(1) Yes, the Court held that the
respondent’s mark is a registered and
well-known mark in the Philippines.
Section 123.1 (e) of Republic Act
No. 8293 provides that a mark that is
considered by the competent
authority of the Philippines to be
well-known internationally and in
the Philippines whether or not it is
registered here, cannot be registered
by another in the Philippines.
(2) Yes, the Court agrees with the
findings of the CA that the mark
“PHILITES” bears an uncanny
resemblance or confusing similarity
with the respondent’s mark
“PHILIPS”. Applying the holistic
test, entails a consideration of the
entirety of the marks as applied to
the products, including the labels and
packaging, in determining
confusing similarity. The fact that
the parties’ wrapper or packaging
reflects negligible differences
considering the use of a slightly
different font and hue of the yellow
is of no moment because taken in
their entirety, the respondent’s
trademark “PHILITES” will likely
cause confusion or deception to the
ordinary purchaser with a modicum
of intelligence
DISPOSITIVE POSITION:
Therefore, the Petition for Review
on Certiorari is DENIED. The Decision and
Resolution of the Court of Appeals are
AFFIRMED
NOTES:
A trademark is any word, name,
symbol, or device, used to identify and
distinguish goods from those
manufactured or sold by others, and to
indicate the source of the goods, even if
that source is unknown. This bit about
unknown sources means that you, as a
consumer don't usually know the person
or factory that actually made the goods
you buy.
The rationale for granting legal
protection for trademarks is that
they're
a type of property -- it demonstrates to
the purchasing public a standard of
quality and embodies the goodwill and
advertising investment of its owner. In
other words, companies expend a
tremendous amount of resources to
develop the product, market it to
customers, provide customer support,
and back up their product with
warranties
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or
logo that is used to brand, identify, and
distinguish a product. A service mark (or
servicemark) is a word, phrase, symbol or
logo that is used to brand, identify, and
distinguish a service.
 definition is
challengeable;
2. Deputy Leader of the
Opposition(DPL)- refutes the case of
the DPM, reestablishes the
case of the opposition, and advances an
argument;
3. Opposition Whip (OW)- makes an
issues-based rebuttal of the
government’s and
summarizes the case of the opposition
Each speaker is allocated seven minutes
to deliver their constructive speeches.
One speaker from
each side (For the
Government:PM/DPM, for
Opposition:LO/DLO) is given four
minutes to
deliver a reply speech.

DEBATE ASSIGNMENT The speakers will be speaking in the

following order:
Asian parliamentary 1. Prime Minister
2. Leader of the opposition
3. Deputy Prime Minister
Teams: 4. Deputy Leader of the Opposition
There two opposing teams in an Asians 5. Government Whip
format of debate: 6. Opposition whip
7. Opposition Reply
1. Government side- proposes and 8. Government Reply
defends the motion; Reply speech is a comparative analysis of
2. Opposition side- refute and negates the the strength and weaknesses of the case of
motion. both sides.
The aim of the speech is to give a bias
Each each side is composed of three judgment as to why should the people
members. support the team’s
The Members of the government side are the claim. The speech is first delivered by the
following: opposition side and followed by the
government side
1. Prime minister (PM)- opens the
who will close the debate.
debate, defines the motion and
advances arguments;
2. Deputy prime Minister(DPM)- refute
at first instance the case of the
opposition, reestablish the
government’s claim, and advance
arguments;
3. Government whip (GW)- makes an
issue-based rebuttal of the opposition’s
case and
summarizes the case of the government.
The Members of the Opposition side are the
following:

1. Leader of the Opposition(LO)-

responds directly to the case of the
government by giving
a direct clash, and advances arguments.
May challenge the motion if the