FRUIT OF THE LOOM, INC Makasiar, J.

v
CA and GENERAL GARMENTS CORP
Nov. 29, 1984
How it Petition for review on certiorari of the CA decision reversing the CFI decision which ordered the cancellation of PR’s
reached SC registration of the TM FRUIT FOR EVE
FACTS PETITIONER, a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of Rhode Island, USA
 registrant of a trademark, FRUIT OF THE LOOM, in the Philippines Patent Office
 two Certificates of Registration were issued on November 29, 1957 and July 26, 1958, respectively.
o The classes of merchandise covered by Registration Certificate No. 6227 are, among others,
men's, women's and children's underwear, which includes women's panties and which fall
under class 40 in the Philippine Patent Office's classification of goods.
o Registration Certificate No. 6680 covers knitted, netted and textile fabrics.

Private respondent, a domestic corporation, is the registrant of a trademark FRUIT FOR EVE in the Philippine Patent
Office
 was issued a Certificate of Registration No. 10160, on January 10, 1963 covering garments similar to
petitioner's products like women's panties and pajamas.

March 31, 1965. Petitioner filed before the lower court a complaint for infringement of trademark and unfair
competition against private respondent.
 Petitioner principally alleged in the complaint that private respondent's trademark FRUIT FOR EVE is
confusingly similar to its trademark FRUIT OF THE LOOM used also on women's panties and other textile
products.
 It was also alleged therein that the color get-up and general appearance of private respondent's hang tag
consisting of a big red apple is a colorable imitation to the hang tag of petitioner.

PR invoked the special defense that its registered trademark is not confusingly similar to that of petitioner
 TM FRUIT FOR EVE is being used on ladies’ panties and pajamas only whereas petitioner’s TM is used even
on men’s underwear and pajamas

PRETRIAL ADMISSIONS
(1) That the trademark FRUIT OF THE LOOM has been registered with the Bureau of Patents and it does
not bear the notice 'Reg. Phil. Patent Off.', and
(2) That the trademark FRUIT FOR EVE has been registered with the Bureau of Patents and it bears the
notice "Reg. Phil. Patent Off." and
(3) That at the time of its registration, plaintiff filed no opposition thereto.
Lower court Judgment is, therefore, rendered ordering the Bureau of Patents to cancel the registration of the Trademark "Fruit
ruled in for Eve", permanently enjoining Defendant from using the trademark "Fruit for Eve", ordering Defendant to pay
favor of plaintiff the sum of P10,000.00 as attorney's fees and to pay the costs.
petitioner
CA reversed Both parties appealed to the former Court of Appeals, herein petitioner's appeal being centered on the failure of
the lower the trial court to award damages in its favor. Private respondent, on the other hand, sought the reversal of the
court lower court's decision.
judgment
and CA reversed the judgment of the lower court and dismissed the petitioner’s complaint.
dismissed
petitioner’s
complaint.

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SC ruled in PETITIONER argues:
favor of PR.  CA committed an error in holding that the word FRUIT, being a generic word, is not capable of exclusive
No appropriation by petitioner and that the registrant of a TM is not entitled to the exclusive use of every
confusing word of his mark
similarity  In other words, petitioner argues that CA committed an error in ruling that petitioner cannot appropriate
between the exclusively the word FRUIT in its TM FRUIT OF THE LOOM.
two TMs.  Also argued that there is NO CONFUSING SIMILARITY in sound and appearance between the two TMs in
question.
o The prominent and dominant features in both of petitioner’s and PR’s TM are the word FRUIT
and the big red apply design
o Ordinary or average purchasers, upon seeing the word FRUIT and the big red apple in PR’s
label or hang tag would be led to believe that the latter’s products are those of the petitioner.
 CA did not touch the question of the fraudulent registration of PR’s TM FRUIT FOR EVE.
o CA did not pass upon the argument of petitioner that PR obtained the registration of its TM
thru fraud or misrepresentation because of the court’s findings that there is no confusing
similarity between the two TMs in question. Hence, court has allegedly nothing to determine
as to who has the right to registration because both parties have the right to have their
respective trademarks registered.
 CA should have awarded damages in its favor because PR had clearly profited from the infringement of the
former’s TM
In cases involving infringement of trademark brought before the Court it has been consistently held that there is
infringement of trademark when the use of the mark involved would be likely to cause confusion or mistake in
the mind of the public or to deceive purchasers as to the origin or source of the commodity
 In cases of this nature, there can be no better evidence as to whether there is a confusing similarity in the
contesting trademarks than the labels or hang tags themselves.

Petitioner asseverates that the dominant features of both trademarks is the word FRUIT.
 In determining whether the trademarks are confusingly similar, a comparison of the words is not the only
determinant factor.
 The trademarks in their entirety as they appear in their respective labels or hang tags must also be
considered in relation to the goods to which they are attached.
 The discerning eye of the observer must focus not only on the predominant words but also on the other
features appearing in both labels in order that he may draw his conclusion whether one is confusingly
similar to the other

In the trademarks FRUIT OF THE LOOM and FRUIT FOR EVE, the lone similar word is FRUIT.
 by mere pronouncing the two marks, it could hardly be said that it will provoke a confusion, as to mistake
one for the other.
 Standing by itself, FRUIT OF THE LOOM is wholly different from FRUIT FOR EVE.
 FRUIT is not the dominant feature of both TMs for even in the printing of the trademark in both hang tags,
the word FRUIT is not at all made dominant over the other words.

As to the design and coloring scheme of the hang tags, while there are similarities in the two marks like the red
apple at the center of each mark, there are also differences or dissimilarities which are glaring and striking to the
eye such as:
1. The shape of petitioner's hang tag is round with a base that looks like a paper rolled a few inches in both
ends; while that of private respondent is plain rectangle without any base.
2. The designs differ. Petitioner's trademark is written in almost semi-circle while that of private respondent
is written in straight line in bigger letters than petitioner's. Private respondent's tag has only an apple in its
center but that of petitioner has also clusters of grapes that surround the apple in the center.
3. The colors of the hang tag are also very distinct from each other. Petitioner's hang tag is fight brown while
that of respondent is pink with a white colored center piece. The apples which are the only similarities in
the hang tag are differently colored. Petitioner's apple is colored dark red, while that of private
respondent is light red.

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 The similarities of the competing trademarks in this case are completely lost in the substantial differences in the
design and general appearance of their respective hang tags.

In examining the two TMs as they appear in the hang tags by the parties, the dissimilarities are clearer than the
similarities.
 trademarks FRUIT OF THE LOOM and FRUIT FOR EVE do not resemble each other as to confuse or deceive
an ordinary purchaser.
 The ordinary purchaser must be thought of as having, and credited with, at least a modicum of intelligence
to be able to see the obvious differences between the two trademarks in question.
 Furthermore, a person who buys petitioner's products and starts to have a liking for it, will not get
confused and reach out for private respondent's products when she goes to a garment store.

These findings in effect render immaterial the other errors assigned by petitioner which are premised on the
assumption that private respondent's trademark FRUIT FOR EVE had infringed petitioner's trademark FRUIT OF THE
LOOM.

DECISION APPEALED FROM IS AFFIRMED. COSTS AGAINST PETITIONER.