idem sonans rule trademarkidem sonans rule trademark

No. Similarity of Trademarks. 2 Rollo, pp. They are so prominent that even from a distance the ballots are easily identified. On Exhibits C-58 rind C-85, the words "Cadia" and "Cuans" appearing on the line for mayor, respectively, do not sufficiently identify the candidate for whom the vote was intended. Ballot Exhibit T-139. No. We have examined the vote in question and found that although at first glance, the word written on the line for mayor may be read as "Tafangu" a careful examination of the last two strokes shows that they were intended for the letters "i" and "t" after considering the dot above the letter "i" and the failure of the writer to cross the letter "t" which has relatively a short stem. It is not subject to opposition, although it may be cancelled after its issuance. In view of the circumstances mentioned above obtaining in the case of Abrea v. Lloren, supra, we believe that the doctrine laid down therein regarding nickname is inapplicable to the instant case. This ballot should therefore be rejected. This fact is shown in the following portion of its Decision: "As shown by the drawings and labels on file, the mark registered by Respondent-Registrant under Registration No. vs. Hence, it is entitled to the protection of the Convention. 4255). Jun 27, 2012 (689 Phil. Balmaceda, G.R. Idem sonans is a legal doctrine whereby a person's identity is presumed known despite the misspelling of his or her name. The Court of Appeals further stated that the word "bajo" is impertinent and offensive because in Visayan dialect it means "bad smell.". T-139) was, however, improperly admitted in favor of petitioner and should be deducted from him. Petitioner's Memorandum, signed by Atty. No. Consequently, the claimed dates of respondent's first use of the marks are presumed valid. PDF Intellectua Property Office of He Philippines 321), The aggravating circumstances of nighttime, G.R. This is an instance where it can be said that the two kinds of writing can be anchored under paragraph 8, Section 149, of the Revised Election Code, because the intention to mark does not appear clear. Ballot Exhibit T-78. 143193), Rights under the Intellectual Property Code, Constitutional policies re intellectual creation. Such similar-sounding words are called a homonym, while simil. A glance at petitioner's mark shows that it definitely has a lot of similarities and in fact looks like a combination of the trademark and devices that respondent has already registered; namely, "Gold Toe," the representation of a sock with a magnifying glass, the "Gold Toe" representation and "linenized.". x x x . https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Idem_sonans&oldid=1147469360, Misspelling does not substantially change the placement of the name if placed in an, This page was last edited on 31 March 2023, at 04:48. Should the filer use a debtor name that is substantially different from the debtor's actual name, the purpose of filing the financing statement is defeated. We do not agree. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idem_sonans), SC: Employee with attitude problem may be fired, Theft, qualified theft; definition; difference; proper penalty, Grounds for change of first name, nickname. Citizens or residents of the Philippines shall have the same benefits as are granted by this section to persons described in the first paragraph hereof. G.R. The financing statement contains information relevant to the secured transaction and puts other creditors on notice that the filer has a secured interest in the property. When the voter wrote the name of Bernados in Gothic letters he must have done it with the evident intention of placing a distinguishing mark on his ballot which necessarily invalidates it. 6797 dated September 22, 1958; b) DEVICE, representation of a sock and magnifying glass on the toe of a sock, under Certificate of Registration No. 4-6; rollo, pp. Duplication or imitation is not necessary; nor is it necessary that the infringing label should suggest an effort to imitate. All rights reserved. Therefore, the present ballot (Exh. 160054), No-spouse, no-marriage employment policies. Ballot Exhibit T-11. 692). The fact that the marks were indeed registered by respondent shows that it did use them on the date indicated in the Certificate of Registration. 11-15; written by Justice Emeterio C. Cui, with the concurrence of Justices Ramon A. Barcelona and Demetrio G. Demetria. [4] A creditor may gain priority over other creditors in the event of a bankruptcy by filing a financing statement. Based on the evidence presented, this Court concurs in the findings of the Bureau of Patents that respondent had actually used the trademark and the devices in question prior to petitioner's use of its own. Apr. Get full access FREE With a 7-Day free trial membership Here's why 628,000 law students have relied on our key terms: A complete online legal dictionary of law terms and legal definitions; Over 7,100 key terms written in plain English to help you not only understand the law but master it; The premier online law dictionary built specifically for law students . L-7704 [1954]; De Alban vs. Ferrer, G.R. Search for a definition or browse our legal glossaries. Whether or not the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the findings of the Director of Patents that petitioner's trademark [was] confusingly similar to respondent's trademarks. G.R. In its Memorandum,7 petitioner raises the following issues for the consideration of this Court: Whether or not the Court of Appeals overlooked that petitioner's trademark was used in commerce in the Philippines earlier than respondent's actual use of its trademarks, hence the Court of Appeals erred in affirming the Decision of the Director of Patents dated September 3, 1990. No. The fact that two trademarks are idem sonans may be used to establish the likelihood of confusion on the part of consumers in an infringement case. Explain - Under the principle of idem sonans, two names are said to be similar only "if the attentive ear finds difficulty in distinguishing them when pronounced." It is not so in the case at hand [Trademark under the Intellectual Property Code", '99 ed. 'GOLD TOE' and 'GOLD TOP' are printed in identical lettering. (Gutierrez v. Aquino, G.R. The latter's witnesses supposedly contradicted themselves as to the date of first actual use of their trademark, coming up with different dates such as 1952, 1947 and 1938. St. Rep. 191. G.R. No. 248021 - PROSEL PHARMACEUTICALS & DISTRIBUTORS, INC St. Rep. 783. The Court of Appeals ruled that said name is only a stray vote and does not invalidate the whole ballot. Name changes can mislead searchers of official records of titles or liens. By virtue of the Philippines' membership to the Paris Union, trademark rights in favor of the [respondent] were created. No. Ballot Exhibit T-144. This will give him a total of 1,565 valid votes. . On appeal, the Court of Appeals rendered a decision on July 31, 1961, declaring Cazeas elected by a plurality of one (1) vote over petitioner Tajanlangit. ), On the other side of the spectrum, the holistic test mandates that the entirety of the marks in question must be considered in determining confusing similarity. 1 Cromp. It is a well settled rule in election contests that the marks which shall be considered sufficient to invalidate the ballot are those which the voter himself deliberately replaced on his ballot for the purpose of identifying it thereafter (Valenzuela v. Carlos and Lopez de Jesus, 42 Phil., 428). Mar 6, 2013 (705 Phil. . The last named officer drafted the decision under appeal which was in due court signed and issued by the Director of Patents (who never presided over any hearing) adversely against the respondent Amigo Manufacturing, Inc. as heretofore mentioned (supra, p.1). In justifying the admission of 602 ballots containing the nickname "Beloy," this Court took into consideration certain proven facts, to wit: (a) that in his certificate of candidacy candidate Lloren stated that he was known by the nickname Beloy; (b) that Lloren distributed sample ballots containing only his nickname Beloy on the line for Municipal Mayor (c) that the ballots containing only his nickname represent 60% of the total number of votes received by Lloren; and (d) that no objection was interposed by the against the evidence presented by Lloren he was properly and commonly known by the nickname Beloy; and no other candidate for mayor bears the same nickname. A foreign-based trademark owner, whose country of domicile is a party to an international convention relating to protection of trademarks,17 is accorded protection against infringement or any unfair competition as provided in Section 37 of Republic Act 166, the Trademark Law which was the law in force at the time this case was instituted. 171.Two names are said to be "idem sonantes" if the attentive ear finds difficulty in distinguishing them when pronounced, or if common and . As that word appears written, it cannot be reasonably inferred that the intention of the voter was to mark the ballot. [8]. 10 "Sec. 189755. The presumption lies in the similarity between the Phonology, or sounds of the correct name and the name as written. 623), G.R. 6 This case was deemed submitted for resolution on April 17, 2000, upon receipt by this Court of respondent's Memorandum, signed by Attys. No. Both also include a representation of a man's foot wearing a sock and the word "linenized" with arrows printed on the label. Upon examination of the ballots in question, we agree with the conclusion made by the Court of Appeals that the writing of the aforesaid names "Acsay" and "Lotilla" in ballot Exhibit T-6 clearly appears to have been intended by the voter to serve as identification marks. As to the actual date of first use by respondent of the four marks it registered, the seeming confusion may have stemmed from the fact that the marks have different dates of first use. This Court can no longer disturb this conclusion of the Court of Appeals which was based upon the evidence on record (Hilao v. Bernados, supra). The Bureau of Patents, however, did not rely on the idem sonans test alone in arriving at its conclusion. At FindLaw.com, we pride ourselves on being the number one source of free legal information and resources on the web. 22792, which reversed, on reconsideration, its own September 29, 1998 Decision.2 The dispositive portion of the assailed Resolution reads as follows: "WHEREFORE, the Motion for Reconsideration is GRANTED, and the Decision dated September 29, 1998 REVERSED. [Petitioner]'s mark is a combination of the different registered marks owned by [respondent]. 82), G.R. Under UK jurisdiction, there has been little judicial activity in this area. 3d 86, 547 N.E.2d 373 (1988) Rule: The arbitrary orthography and pronunciation given to proper names, and the variant spelling resulting from ignorance have led the courts to formulate the doctrine of "idem sonans," which means "sounding the same." By Vicente B. Amador]. Rights of foreign registrants. Admittedly, there are some minor differences between the two sets of marks. We believe that this ruling is incorrect. What is IDEM SONANS? Definition of IDEM SONANS (Black's Law Dictionary) T-6) and "Ledesma" (Exh. Respondent contends that said court committed error in invalidating this ballot invoking the provision on paragraph 13, section 149 of the Revised Election Code. The uphill alignment, pen pressure, slant as well as sizes of the letters in said names are dissimilar with those of the other names written on the ballot. In . The Court of Appeals also reasoned that the different spelling of the name "Lopez" on the 4th line for senators and that of "Lopez" on the 2nd line for councilors shows they were written by two different persons. 2. L-7704, December 14, 1954). 2-3; rollo, pp. For the purposes of this section, the country of origin of the applicant is the country in which he has bona fide and effective industrial or commercial establishment, or if he has not such an establishment in the country in which he is domiciled, or if he has not a domicile in any of the countries described in the first paragraph of this section, the country of which he is a national. The husband then sought a declaratory judgment that defendants judgment debtor, realty purchaser, and lenders had constructive notice of the judgment lien under the doctrine of idem sonans because, when pronounced, the misspellings all sounded like the correct name. 254 of Director of Patents, Apr. We agree with the conclusion reached by the Court of Appeal that this ballot is null and void for having been filled by two distinct persons (Par. Section 5-A of Republic Act No. G.R. No. 227797 - FERDINAND V. SEVILLA, PETITIONER, VS. COMMISSION ON We agree with the Court of Appeals that the vote on this ballot cannot be counted in favor of respondent. 285--286. The same is true with the case of Perez v. Bemida, supra, which was based on the Lloren case doctrine. One moose, two moose. Republic of the PhilippinesSUPREME COURTManila, G.R. This finding of fact is no longer open for review by this Court; hence, the ruling of the Court of Appeals admitting these three ballots in favor of petitioner should be upheld (Hilao v. Bernados, supra). The findings of the Bureau of Patents that two trademarks are confusingly and deceptively similar to each other are binding upon the courts, absent any sufficient evidence to the contrary. No. [5] That means that a creditor filing a judgment lien or a title abstract company searching title to real property by a deed filed in an office of a county clerk must search by exact name, and can not rely on idem sonans. Moreover, it must also be considered that petitioner and respondent are engaged in the same line of business. W. 540, 04 Am. 764), Free exercise of religion = basis of tax exemption, G. R. No. IDEM SONANS Definition & Meaning - Black's Law Dictionary This is the doctrine enunciated in the case of Tabiana v. Abordo, supra, which we believe is applicable to the ballot in question. No. C-77) was improperly rejected and should be counted in favor of respondent. Does the doctrine ofidem sonansoperate to provide constructive notice of the existence of a judgment lien when the judgment debtors name is incorrectly spelled in the recordation document? The rule on idem sonans is also a test to resolve the confusing similarity of trademarks. 15440 dated April 13, 1970. In the Patent Office, this case was heard by no less than six Hearing Officers: Attys. Citing various differences between the two sets of marks, petitioner assails the finding of the director of patents that its trademark is confusingly similar to that of respondent. definitions of legal terms. & M. 800; 3 Chit Gen. Pr. d) LINENIZED, under Certificate of Registration No. Name Co Tlonq. G.R. If you have specific questions, please consult a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. Judgment was entered for defendants and plaintiff appealed. As held in Del Monte Corporation v. Court of Appeals, 181 SCRA 410 (1990), the question is not whether the two articles are distinguishable by their label when set aside but whether the general confusion made by the article upon the eye of the casual purchaser who is unsuspicious and off his guard, is such as to likely result in confounding it with the original. To allow the petitioner to contest the validity of these ballots now would be unfair not only to the respondent but also the Court of Appeals, both of whom were deprived, the former, of an opportunity to present proof to destroy petitioner's claim, and the latter, to pass judgment upon the same (Quintia v. Bautista, 49 O.G., 2339). 154514. "Rights Sec. A "trademark" is defined under R.A. 166, the Trademark Law, as including "any word, name, symbol, emblem, sign or device or any combination thereof adopted and used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify his goods and distinguish them from those manufactured, sold or dealt in by others." In the European Union, a mark must be well-known, with courts determining just how well-known. Mar 18, 2002 (429 Phil. An idem sonans name allows a pleading or other document (as a warrant) to be considered valid despite the minor misspelling of a name or other misidentification of a party. Petitioner Amigo Manufacturing Inc. challenges, under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, the January 14, 1999 Resolution1 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-GR SP No. Leon Amdur, in his book "TradeMark Law and Practice", pp. There is no showing that this ballot was cast by registered voter Delfin Saymo or that he wrote or signed his name thereon, which would have been sufficient to invalidate the same (Ferrer v. De Alba, 54 O.G. 15 See Asia Brewery, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 224 SCRA 437, July 5, 1993; Converse Rubber Corporation v. Universal Rubber Products, Inc., 147 SCRA 154, January 8, 1987. We, therefore, uphold the ruling of the Court of Appeals admitting these three ballots for petitioner. Idem sonans Legal Meaning & Law Definition: Free Law Dictionary Examining the ratio decidendi in the case of Abrea v. Lloren, supra, the reason why this Court admitted ballots containing only a nickname was because 602 of the total number of 1,010 votes counted for Isabelo Lloren were cast by writing his nickname "Beloy"; and it had no alternative than to brush aside legal technicalities for the sake of "giving effect to the will of the people as freely and clearly expressed on the ballots." 13, Section 149, Revised Election Code). Petitioner claims that the Court of Appeals erred in rejecting this ballot invoking the provision of paragraph 13, section 149 of the Revised Election Code, which provides that any vote in favor of a person who has not filed a certificate of candidacy shall be void and counted as a stray vote but shall not invalidate the whole ballot. When he later sold his real property to defendant realty purchaser, a title search failed to disclose the abstract of judgment, such that the judgment lien was not identified and the proceeds were not used to satisfy the judgment. 12 Villaflor v. CA, 280 SCRA 297, 329-330, October 9, 1997, per Panganiban, J. EXPLAIN. Bengzon, Villegas and Zarraga for petitioner. No. 'GOLD TOP' blatantly incorporates petitioner's 'LINENIZED' which by itself is a registered mark."13. Both show [a] representation of a man's foot wearing a sock. Justice demands we videotape all police interrogat G. R. No. T-139) containing only the nickname of petitioner is not a valid vote for him. Ballot Exhibit C-60. The registration of the above marks in favor of respondent constitutes prima facie evidence, which petitioner failed to overturn satisfactorily, of respondent's ownership of those marks, the dates of appropriation and the validity of other pertinent facts stated therein. 1. As its title implies, the test of dominancy focuses on the similarity of the prevalent features of the competing trademarks which might cause confusion or deception and thus constitutes infringement. This ballot should, therefore, be counted in favor of petitioner who was voted thereon for the office of the mayor. We do not agree with the conclusion reached by the Court of Appeals. (d) Nothing in this paragraph shall entitle the owner of a registration granted under this section to sue for acts committed prior to the date on which his mark or trade-name was registered in this country unless the registration is based on use in commerce. No. The use of two kinds of writing appearing in this ballot is a good example of the exception provided for in paragraph 18, Section 149 of the Revised Election Code, which provides that unless it should clearly appear that it has been deliberately put by the voter to serve as identification mark, the use of two or more kinds of writing shall be considered innocent and shall not invalidate the ballot. No. To emphasize, Section 5-A of Republic Act 166 requires the date of first use to be specified in the application for registration.