Former Eat Bulaga hosts Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, and Joey de Leon have already started legal action against their former production company Television and Production Exponents Inc. and former network GMA.
On July 12, 2023, the TVJ, including former Eat Bulaga head writer Jeny Ferre, filed Copyright Infringement charges against TAPE and GMA before the Marikina Regional Trial Court.
Marikina RTC Branch 273 asked TAPE and GMA to give their comments on the charges filed by the legendary trio against them.
The said charge was related to continuous usage by TAPE Inc. of the title Eat Bulaga, despite the claims of TVJ that they were the ones who invented the said word.
It can be recalled that Joey already said that he was the one who invented the title Eat Bulaga.
However, TAPE Inc. insisted that they had the right to use the title as they registered the trademark Eat Bulaga in 2011.
Meanwhile, TVJ said that Jeny, was the brain behind some of the popular segments by Eat Bulaga that were also being claimed by TAPE.
“You are hereby required, within thirty days after service of this Summons, to file with this court, and serve on the plaintiffs, through counsel, your Answer to the Complaint, copy of which is attached together with the annexes. You are reminded of Rule 2, Section 4 of the 2020 Revised Rules of Procedure for Intellectual Property Rights Cases wihch prescribed the filing of a motion to dismiss exept only on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, les pendentia, or res judicata, and instead alleged any ground/s other than the ones previously mentioned as defense/s in the Answer.” the court wrote.
“If you fail to answer within the time fixed, the court, on motion of the plaintiffs, or moto proprio, render judgment as may be warranted by the allegations in the complaint, as well as the affidavits and other evidence on record,” they added.
As of writing, TAPE and GMA have yet to release a response to the charges filed against them by TVJ who left them on May 31, 2023.