GINEBRA San Miguel, Inc. (GSMI) has won anew against Tanduay Distillers, Inc. (TDI) over the use of "Ginebra," a name for a popular gin.
GSMI claimed that TDI is misleading the public by selling "Ginebra Kapitan" as people might believe that GSMI is its manufacturer and distributor.
It also presented the results of a commissioned survey showing that 90 percent of the respondents, representing six million gin drinkers in the Philippines, associated the name Ginebra with GSMI's "Ginebra San Miguel."
In its November 7 ruling, the Court of Appeals (CA) Special 16th Division said GSMI “has presented a preponderance of evidence to prove its claim over the mark, 'Ginebra,' and that the same has acquired a secondary meaning in trademark laws.”
The ruling reversed the judgment issued in favor of TDI by the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court branch 211 in October 2012.
The appellate court has directed TDI, which sells "Ginebra Kapitan," to recall all its gin products bearing the name of Ginebra.
All "infringing or unfairly competing goods" like bottles, labels, signs, prints, packages, wrappers, receptacles and advertisements bearing the mark Ginebra must also be destroyed or kept out of circulation, the court said.
It added that GSMI should get half of the gross sales of Ginebra Kapitan from the time of the filing of the case up to the finality of the Court's judgment and is entitled to receive P2 million for exemplary damages and P500,000 for legal fees.
The CA tossed the case back to the Mandaluyong court for the purpose only of the accounting of the gross sales of Ginebra Kapitan and for the determination of the amount of actual compensatory damages to be awarded to GSMI.
GSMI earlier won in the trademark infringement and unfair competition case against TDI in a decision handed down by the CA special former 13th Division last August 15, 2013. (Sunnex)