EN BANC

G.R. No. L-4392 February 17, 1909

PATRICIO UBEDA,Plaintiff-Appellant, vs. AGAPITO

ZIALCITA,Defendant-Appellee.

Kincaid and Hurd for appellant.

Felipe Buencamino for appellee.

ARELLANO, C.J. : chanrobles virtual law library

Patricio Ubeda, owner of the registered trade-mark " Ginebra Tres

Campanas," claims and alleges loss and damages by reason of the
imitation of his trade-mark by the defendant, who has been selling
gin in bottles bearing said trade-mark, and using a label design that
greatly resembles his; that the only difference between them is that
of the defendant, instead of bearing the words " Ginebra Tres
Campanas," reads " Ginebra de Dos Campanas," and in the center
thereof, instead of " Patricio Ubeda," it reads " Gavino Barreto;" that
the remainder of the trade-mark is a copy of his own; and that as
the defendant, the plaintiff avers, has thus sold gin to the value of
not less than P50,000, from which he has obtained a profit of
P10,000, the plaintiff's sales have been decreased by the amount
and he has failed to receive the said profit of P10,000 which he
would have obtained if he had made such sales. In conclusion he
prayed that the defendant be ordered to account for all sales made
by him of gin put up in bottles bearing the trade-mark, design, or
any of the distinctive marks belonging to the plaintiff, and that,
after the extent of such sales has been ascertained, the said
defendant thereof as indemnity for loss and damages; that the
defendant be forever prohibited from using the device or trade-
mark or design bearing any resemblance to those of the plaintiff,
and that he be sentenced to pay the costs of the proceeding. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

The defendant, Agapito Zialcita, opposed the demand for various

reasons which he advanced as a special denial to the complaint, and
the Court of First Instance of Manila, after hearing the evidence
adduced at the trial, absolved him from the complaint filed by the
plaintiff herein, Patricio Ubeda, with the costs against the latter. The
plaintiff appealed from the judgment and moved for a new trial; his
motion was overruled, to which motion he excepted, and submitted
a bill of exceptions to this court for the purposes of his appeal and a
review of the facts and evidence offered in the first instance.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

On the appeal it appears: chanrobles virtual law library

That the plaintiff is the owner of a trade-mark described in the third

clause of his complaint as:

Two concentric circles, the larger fifty millimeters in diameter, and

the smaller thirty-three, eight millimeters apart. In the upper part of
the ring formed by the imposition of one circle over the other, are
the words " Ginebra de Tres Companas," and in the lower part, the
name of the plaintiff, " Patricio Ubeda." Inside the smaller or center
ring there are three bells, tied together at the top by a ribbon, and
an ear of some cereal, the ends of which fall over the bells posterior
and lateral bells. On the lower part of said bells the words " Extra
Superior" are written. Above the two circles and almost
diametrically crossing them, the facsimile of the signature and
rubric of the plaintiff, that is " Patricio Ubeda," is stamped in black
ink; said facsimile commences on the three first letters of the word
" Ginebra," and ends at the letter "P" of the " Campanas," crossing
the three bells; the rubric terminates on the lower part of the bell at
the right of the other two, viewed from the front, though skirting it
a little at the left. Outside, and above the larger ring, are the
following words in small print: "Para evitar la falsificacion, nuestras
etiquetas se hallan depositadas y llevan nuestra firma." (To prevent
falsification, our labels are registered and bear our signature), and
below and also outside is the word " Manila."

That said mark was registered at the office of the late Direccion
General de Administracion Civil of the Spanish Government on
December 24, 1898; that on July 31,1905, the plaintiff cautioned
the defendant to stop using a mark similar to his own, but,
notwithstanding the warning, the defendant continued to use said
mark; that the defendant, in addition to a general denial in his
answer, alleged as a special defense: (1) That no similarity or
resemblance exists between the trade-marks used by him and those
of the plaintiff; (2) that long prior to 1880, the distinctive device or
trade-mark " Ginebra de la Campana" of Van Den Bergh & Co. was
entered and registered in the old Direccion General de
Administracion Civil, at present the division of patents, copyrights,
and trade-marks of the Executive Bureau, which trade-mark is
similar to or greatly resembles the one described by the plaintiff in
his complaint; and (3) that the device now used by the plaintiff,
which is different from that registered by him, is also another
falsification of that of Van Den Bergh & Co., and which he managed
to register by taking advantage of the first days of American
occupation of the city of Manila; said plaintiff has been using both
marks, one after the other, for the purpose of defrauding and
deceiving the public as to the nature, origin, and properties of his
gin, mixing it with that of Van Den Bergh & Co., and thus selling a
cheap product at the same price as the gin of Van Den Bergh & Co.,
which for the reason that it is imported from Europe, costs more
than his.
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The imitation charged by the plaintiff to the defendant was the

subject of argument and proof, in the consideration of which the
judgment appealed from deals at length; but for the purposes of the
law, the following conclusions contained in the said judgment suffice
to determine the question:

First. That the title of ownership of the plaintiff, Exhibit A, was

issued to the plaintiff on December 16, 1898, for a trade-mark
which is not exactly the same as the one described in the complaint,
because although the said titles or trade-marks bear the same
circular form, and around the two concentric circles the words
" Patricio Ubeda," " Ginebra de Tres Campanas" and " Extra
Superior" appear, and on the outside are the words "para evitar la
falsification nuestras etiquetas se halan depositadas y llevan
nuestra firma," and the center is of gold color, which is the color of
the entire label " Tres Campanas," and signature " Patricio Ubeda"
in black yet on the lower part of said label, outside of the larger
circle of the trade-mark is seen the word " Amberes." (Antwerp),
whereas on the other, in lieu thereof is printed as follows the word
" Manila," this difference was explained at the trial as follows: That
the said title was issued to the plaintiff to sell gin in this Islands
imported from Antwerp, with the said label, but not manufactured
by the plaintiff as stated in his complaint; the difference between
the registered trade-mark and the other is also noticeable because
on the latter the words or legends previously described are not
embossed, nor is the gold coloring in the one of the same shade as
in the other.
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Second. That on the other hand there appears from the certified
copy, Exhibit 8, that a certificate was issued on the 11th of
December, 1873, by the Ministerio de Fomento in Spain to Van Den
Bergh & Co., manufacturers of wines at Antwerp, according them
the use of the mark " Ginebra de la Campana, Van Den Bergh &
Co.," with the right to use said trade-mark in Spanish territory and
foreign possession, said mark appears as Exhibit 3, and bears a
great resemblance to Exhibit A, the title of ownership of which,
according to said exhibit, was issued to said plaintiff by the
aforesaid Direccion General de Administracion Civil; the only
difference between the two trade-marks being that three bells are
printed on that of the plaintiff, in the center of the two circles, with
the signature of Patricio Ubeda in black ink crossing the two circles,
while that of Exhibit 3 has only one bell inside the circles, with the
signature of Van Den Bergh & Co., crossing the said circles; there
has been and there still is on the sale in this market bottled gin
bearing the said trade-mark, as was also proven at the trial; said
trade-mark was registered in the Bureau of Archives in November,
1903, in view of the fact that no record could be found of the
registration of the trade-mark " Tres Campanas," and for the reason
that said trade-mark of Van Den Bergh & Co. had already been
registered in the United States. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

Third. That the similarity existing between the trade mark " Ginebra
de la Campana, Van Den Bergh & Co.," and the trade-mark
" Ginebra de tres Campanas, Patricio Ubeda," under the
circumstances mentioned with respect to the registration or
issuance of the title of ownership of the second of the said trade-
marks in favor of the plaintiff, should be taken into account for the
due appreciation of the acts of the parties herein, and their
respective rights in this litigation, because it all tends to explain in
some way the conduct of the defendant . . . and at the same time
shows that all trade-marks bearing more or less bells, familiar to
the trade here on gin bottles, are nothing more than a variation of
the mark " Ginebra de la Campana, Van Den Bergh & Co.," or bear
some resemblance thereto, and shows that if it was a matter of
judging simply from the similarity or resemblance between two
trade-marks, the plaintiff has no right to charge the defendant with
being a competitor in bad faith for having used the trade-mark
" Dos Campanas."

In effect, the following communication received by the plaintiff on

the 12th of December, 1898, from the Dirección General de
Administración Civil, is one of the documents offered by him as a
preliminary title:

By a resolution of the 5th inst. . . . this Direccion General has been

pleased to grant you the ownership of the inclosed trade-mark for
the wines denominated " Tres Campanas," of which you are
the importer in this market, upon payment of the corresponding
fees.

But the said trade-mark reads on the lower part, " Amberes," and in
diminutive characters toward the right had bears the lithographer's
name, " Litografía Ramírez y Ca., Madrid." So that the license
granted him was for the use of an Antwerp trade-mark, for gin
imported into these Islands, while the trade-mark described in the
complaint as being imitated, is one for gin manufactured in these
Islands, for which the license granted was not obtained; and
according to a certificate of the Bureau of Archives of this
Government, there is only one entry on file, as follows:

Registro Público y General de Comercio. - Section 2, folio 3, 8. -

Under date of December 16, 1898, His Excellency, the Governor-
General, issued a title of ownership of a trade-mark in favor of Don
Patricio Ubeda Gallego, as importer in this market of the wine
denominated " Tres Campanas."

This entry is not exactly that of the title, Exhibit A, issued on the
16th of December, 1898, but its recording in the division of
agriculture, industry, and commerce of the saidDirección which
actually appears under entry No. 8 on folio 3 of the second register
of industrial and commercial trade-marks, dated December 24,
1898.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

On December 2, 1904, in reply to a communication from Van Den

Bergh & Co. of Antwerp, Patricio Ubeda told the said gentlemen that
he was the proprietor of the trade-mark " Ginebra Tres Campanas"
for the Philippine Islands under entry No. 8, folio 3, of the second
register of industrial and commercial trade-marks. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

Upon comparing the trade-marks that appears at the foot of the

title of ownership presented by the plaintiff, and which bears the
word " Amberes" on the lower outer part thereof, with the real and
undisputed mark of Van Den Bergh & Co., of Antwerp, also bearing
the said word upon the lower part, it is found that the description
given in clause 3 of the complaint applies to the salient features of
both, and that when viewed from a distance they appear alike; even
to the characters used in the respective autographs stamped across
both marks, the resemblance is perfect, and the type employed in
the legend, the caution, class, and place of origin is the same in
both. So that it may be said of Van Den Bergh & Co.'s trade-mark
(Exhibit 3), as of that of Patricio Ubeda's (Exhibit A): Two concentric
circles, the larger of 50 millimeters in diameter and the smaller 33,
8 millimeters apart. On the lower part of the bell the words " Extra
Superior" are written. Above the two circles and almost
diametrically crossing them, the facsimile of the signature and
rubric of Van Den Bergh & Co. is stamped in black ink; said
facsimile commences on the first letter of the word " Ginebra" and
ends at the letter "P" of the word " Campana." Outside and above
the larger ring and in small letters (identical in both) are the
following words: "Para evitar la falsificacion nuestras etiquetas se
hallan depositadas y llevan nuestra firma." Below, and also outside,
is the word " Amberes," of the same type and size (in both trade-
marks), not " Manila," as described in clause 3 of the complaint. The
whole of the substitution consists of " Tres Campanas" for " La
Campana," and " Patricio Ubeda" in lieu of " Van Den Bergh & Co.,"
both in the text and the signature; all are of the same color, and,
viewed from a certain distance as a whole, of exactly the same
appearance; in other words such a mark as is applied to a bottle of
characteristics design as that used for the putting up gin. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library
The conclusion contained in the judgment appealed from, "that all
the labels with more or less campanas (bells) used in this market on
gin bottles are nothing more than a variation of the trade-mark
" Ginebra de la Campana, Van Den Bergh & Co.," or bear a great
resemblance thereto," is correct.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

The plaintiff presents a registered trade-mark which can be seen at

the foot of the title of ownership obtained for imported gin.
According to the registered mark existed here, although he says he
was given to understand that the copyright had expired. Ernest
Appel, of the firm of C. Heinszen & Co. of this city, testified that he
did not know when the " Ginebra de Una Campana" was first
imported in these Islands, but, according to the books of said firm,
which is the importer of it, the latter received a shipment of 500
cases on the 15th of January, 1892. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

The trade-mark of this gin was produced in evidence (Exhibit No. 3)

prior to that of the plaintiff which, as stated by the latter "was
registered in Spain," and he believed that it existed in the Islands,
according to his declaration at folio 19 of the record; all the
objection raised against its admission was based, first, in that the
plaintiff did not derive any right from the mark of Van Den Bergh &
Co.; second, in that said mark was not valid in the Philippine,
because at the time when that of the plaintiff was registered the
defendant had no right therein for the reason that any right which
he might have possessed had expired; and third, in that this matter
was foreign to the suit between the plaintiff and the defendant
as res inter alios acta. Thus he assigns as error in the judgment "in
admitting as proof the certificate issued in 1873 by the Ministerio de
Fomento of Spain to Van Den Bergh & Co. for the use of the mark
' Ginebra de la Campana.' "(Brief, 2.) He added:

So that although it be considered that the plaintiff's mark is an

imitation of that of Van Den Bergh & Co., yet from the fact that the
mark of the latter had lapsed, it is evident that since 1898 the
plaintiff was the only one who could lawfully use the mark " Ginebra
Tres Campanas," and all other variations of the same were illegal . .
. In the said year 1898, apart from the said double expiration
(through prescription of ownership and use) of the trade-mark
" Ginebra de la Campana," no one claimed to have any right
thereto, and consequently the plaintiff, like any other person, could
ask for, and the ownership could be granted him, not of a mark
similar to that of Van Den Bergh & Co., but one exactly the same as
the mark " Ginebra de la Campana," and the grantee could not be
charged with bad faith. (Brief, 7 and 8.) chanrobles virtual law library

No action, or suit, or criminal prosecution shall be maintained under

the provisions of this Act . . . in any case where the trade-mark,
trade-name, or the indicia of origin, ownership, or manufacture
have been used by the complaining and injured party for the
purpose of himself deceiving the public with respect to the character
of the merchandise sold by him or of the business or profession or
occupation carried on by him.

This is one of the defense utilized by the defendant so far as he

alleged that a party who had imitated the trade-mark of another
could hardly be entitled to bring an action for an imitation of his
own. If, as claimed by the plaintiff, the mark " Dos Campanas,"
used by the defendant, is an imitation and a variation of his own
trade-mark " Tres Campanas," it is illegitimate and illegal, and the
conduct of the person using the said imitation is deceitful and
fraudulent and subject to an action for unlawful competition; it
follows that the mark " Tres Campanas," of the plaintiff, being an
imitation and a variation of the mark " La Campana" and the
conduct of the plaintiff is in turn deceitful and fraudulent and gives
rise to an action for unlawful competition. And being deceitful and
fraudulent, that is to say, inasmuch as the petitioner, who claims to
be the injured party, made use of the mark " Tres Campanas" for
the purpose of deceiving the public with respect to the character of
the merchandise sold by him, pretending, under the title of
ownership produced in evidence, to cause it to pass as imported
from Antwerp when it was manufactured in Manila, as he testified in
this case, he can not, under the provisions of said section 9,
exercise any right of action or sue for what he claims in his
complaint.chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

Neither through the lack of registration of trade-mark of Van Den

Bergh & Co. nor by reason of the expiration of the copyright for its
use, could the plaintiff consider himself at liberty to freely and with
impunity use the same. Section 4 of the said Act reads as follows:

In order to justify recovery for violation of trade-mark rights in the

preceding section defined, it shall not be necessary to show that the
trade-marks have been registered under the royal decree of 1888,
providing for registration of trade-marks in the Philippine Islands, in
force during the Spanish sovereignty in these Islands, nor shall it be
necessary to show that the trade-mark if the party complaining shall
prove that he has been registered under this Act. It shall be
sufficient to invoke protection of his property in a trade-mark if the
party complaining shall prove that he has used the trade-mark
claimed by him and calculated to deceive the public into the belief
that the goods of that other were the goods manufactured or dealt
in by the complaining party.

The fact that both have fraudulently imitated the trade-mark of the
third person, one which antedated both of theirs, and which with
variations was copied in order to sell as " La Campana" gin from
Antwerp, those gins which the one and the other have offered the
public under the trade-marks of " Dos Campanas" and " Tres
Campanas," can not be considered res inter alios acta for the
foundation of an action between the plaintiff and the defendant. The
usurpation of a trade-mark by means of an imitation is punished by
law, and this is what the plaintiff puts forward as his right of action
against the defendant. The latter in turn, in answer to the plaintiff
and for the purpose of denying his right of action sets up the same
charge of imitation, and supports his exception by offering in
evidence the trade-mark that was imitated, substituted, and
originally usurped; the right of a third person is not contested
except as a defense against the plaintiff, and whatever is legitimate
as a cause of action is equally legitimate as a defense. If the action
is a legitimate one, although the usurped trade-mark was not
entered or registered, legitimate must also be the defense, although
the mark, usurped in turn by the complaining and injured party,
may not have been recorded or registered. Therefore, there is no
injury to him who in turn appears as guilty of identical usurpation;
evidence to this effect with respect to an act relating to a third
person is not res inter alios acta, but necessary proof of the defense
of the defendant. And, inasmuch as the provision of the law must be
complied with, it is needless in order to decide this case to consider
the other exceptions or defenses of the defendant; the lack of right
of action stands foremost owing to its conclusive effect. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary chanrobles virtual law library

By virtue of the foregoing and on account of the circumstances as

set forth, the judgment appealed from is hereby affirmed with the
costs of this instance against the appellant.
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Torres, Mapa, Carson, and Willard, JJ., concur.