Catsup or lechon sauce? SC says UFC owns ‘Papa’

MANILA, Philippines - UFC Philippines Inc. has won its legal tug of war over the brand “Papa” against Barrio Fiesta Manufacturing Corp.

The Supreme Court (SC) granted UFC’s petition seeking to stop Barrio Fiesta from using the mark “Papa Boy & Device” for its commercial lechon sauce.

In a 35-page decision promulgated last Jan. 20 but released only yesterday, the First Division of the high court reversed the June 2011 decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) favoring Barrio Fiesta.

The SC instead reinstated the earlier ruling of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) rejecting Barrio Fiesta’s trademark application for its lechon sauce since “Papa” is already owned by UFC for its popular catsup.

“The findings of fact of the highly technical agency, the Intellectual

Property Office, which has the expertise in this field, should have

been given great weight by the Court of Appeals,” read the ruling

penned by Assoicate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro.

The SC held that the CA erred in applying the holistic test and in reversing and setting aside the March 2008 decision of the IPO’s

Bureau of Legal Affairs rejecting Barrio Fiesta’s application.

The high court agreed with IPO that the word “Papa” is the dominant feature in UFC’s mark “Papa Ketsarap,” so the brand “Papa Boy & Device” – which also has “Papa” as dominant feature – could not be granted trademark registration.

It stressed that allowing the lechon sauce of Barrio Fiesta to be sold in public markets and groceries – in the same packaging as the “Papa” catsup – would lead consumers to think that UFC, which is now merged with NutriAsia Inc., has expanded its condiment products to now include lechon sauce.

The SC also explained that confusion of business may set in, and UFC’s hard-earned goodwill may be associated with the newer product introduced by Barrio Fiesta, all because of the use of the dominant feature of petitioner’s mark on respondent’s mark, which is the word “Papa.”

Records showed that Barrio Fiesta filed its application for the brand in 2002. NutriAsia opposed the application since its catsup and the lechon sauce of the restaurant chain fall under the same class of goods.