1. [G.R. No. 76193. November 9, 1989.
] Since the name "CHARLIE BROWN" and its pictorial representation were covered by
UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC., petitioner, vs. MUNSINGWEAR
CREATION MANUFACTURING COMPANY, respondent.
Petitioner’s claim:
Petitioner is asking for the cancellation of the registration of trademark CHARLIE
BROWN (Registration No. SR. 4224) in the name of respondent MUNSINGWEAR,
alleging that petitioner is damaged by the registration of the trademark CHARLIE
BROWN of T-Shirts under Class 25 with the Registration No. SR-4224 dated
September 12, 1979 in the name of Munsingwear Creation Manufacturing Co., Inc.,
on the following grounds: (1) that respondent was not entitled to the registration of the
mark CHARLIE BROWN, & DEVICE at the time of application for registration; (2) that
CHARLIE BROWN is a character creation or a pictorial illustration, the copyright to
which is exclusively owned worldwide by the petitioner; (3) that as the owner of the
pictorial illustration CHARLIE BROWN, petitioner has since 1950 and continuously up
to the present, used and reproduced the same to the exclusion of others; (4) that the
respondent-registrant has no bona fide use of the trademark in commerce in the
Philippines prior to its application for registration.
Respondent’s claim:
-It uses, the trademark "CHARLIE BROWN" & "DEVICE" on children's wear such as
T-shirts, undershirts, sweaters, brief and sandos, in class 25; whereas "CHARLIE
BROWN" is used only by petitioner as character, in a pictorial illustration used in a
comic strip appearing in newspapers and magazines. It has no trademark significance
and therefore respondent-registrant's use of "CHARLIE BROWN" & "DEVICE" is not
in conflict with the petitioner's use of "CHARLIE BROWN"
-Relied on the ruling on October 2, 1984 in which the Director of the Philippine Patent
Office rendered a decision in this case holding that a copyright registration like that of
the name and likeness of CHARLIE BROWN may not provide a cause of action for
the cancellation of a trademark registration.
Issue:WHETHER THE RESPONDENT COURT OF APPEALS COMMITTED GRAVE
ABUSE OF DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO EXCESS OF JURISDICTION WHEN BY
DISMISSING THE APPEAL TO IT FROM THE DECISION OF THE DIRECTOR OF
PATENTS, IT KNOWINGLY DISREGARDED ITS OWN DECISION IN AC-GR. SP.
NO. 0342, WHICH WAS AFFIRMED BY THIS HONORABLE SUPREME COURT TO
THE EFFECT THAT A COPYRIGHTED CHARACTER MAY NOT BE
APPROPRIATED AS A TRADEMARK BY ANOTHER UNDER PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO. 49.
S.C. Ruling:
The petitioner is impressed with merit.
a copyright registration way back in 1950 the same are entitled to protection under
PD No. 49, otherwise known as the "Decree on Intellectual Property".
Aside from its copyright registration, petitioner is also the owner of several trademark
registrations and application for the name and likeness of "CHARLIE BROWN" which
is the duly registered trademark and copyright of petitioner United Feature Syndicate
Inc. as early as 1957 and additionally also as TV SPECIALS featuring the
"PEANUTS" characters "CHARLIE BROWN”.
It is undeniable from the records that petitioner is the actual owner of said trademark
due to its prior registration with the Patent's Office.
2. G.R. Nos. L-76649-51. August 19, 1988.]
20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION, petitioner, vs. COURT OF
APPEALS, EDUARDO M. BARRETO, RAUL SAGULLO and FORTUNE
LEDESMA, respondents.
Petitioner’s claim:
The petitioner maintains that the lower court issued the questioned search warrants
after finding the existence of a probable cause justifying their issuance. According to
the petitioner, the lower court arrived at this conclusion on the basis of the depositions
of applicant NBI's two witnesses which were taken through searching questions and
answers by the lower court.
Respondent’s claim:
The respondent posits that the three questioned search warrants against the private
respondents should be lifeted on the ground that it acted on the application for the
issuance of the said search warrants and granted it on the misrepresentations of
applicant NBI and its witnesses that infringement of copyright or a piracy of a
particular film have been committed.
They also maintained that the presentation of the master tapes of the copyrighted
films from which the pirated films were allegedly copied, was necessary for the
validity of search warrants against those who have in their possession the pirated
films. The petitioner's argument to the effect that the presentation of the master tapes
at the time of application may not be necessary as these would be merely evidentiary
in nature and not determinative of whether or not a probable cause exists to justify the
issuance of the search warrants is not meritorious.

S.C. Ruling:

The presentation of the master tapes of the copyrighted films from which the pirated
films were allegedly copied, was necessary for the validity of search warrants against
those who have in their possession the pirated films. The petitioner's argument to the
effect that the presentation of the master tapes at the time of application may not be
necessary as these would be merely evidentiary in nature and not determinative of
whether or not a probable cause exists to justify the issuance of the search warrants
is not meritorious. The court cannot presume that duplicate or copied tapes were
necessarily reproduced from master tapes that it owns.

The application for search warrants was directed against video tape outlets which
allegedly were engaged in the unauthorized sale and renting out of copyrighted films
belonging to the petitioner pursuant to P.D. 49. The essence of a copyright
infringement is the similarity or at least substantial similarity of the purported pirated
works to the copyrighted work. Hence, the applicant must present to the court the
copyrighted films to compare them with the purchased evidence of the video tapes
allegedly pirated to determine whether the latter is an unauthorized reproduction of
the former. This linkage of the copyrighted films to the pirated films must be
established to satisfy the requirements of probable cause. Mere allegations as to the