Tito Sotto and Joey de Leon attended the first hearing of the copyright infringement case they filed against Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc.
On July 27, 2023, the two former Eat Bulaga hosts explained to the public why they wanted TAPE Inc. to stop using Eat Bulaga title and its segments, saying that the production company was trying to mislead the people.
“They’re deceiving the people by saying na sila ‘yung Eat Bulaga,” said Sotto. “Pwede naman nilang ituloy ‘yung programa kung gusto nila pero palitan nila ‘yung pangalan nila,”
Sotto also argued that TAPE had no right to use the old footage of Eat Bulaga or air replayed episodes of the said noontime show without their permission.
It can be recalled that TAPE replayed three episodes of Eat Bulaga when TVJ and other former hosts of the show left on May 31.
According to him, the production company was forcing the public to believe that they were the legitimate Eat Bulaga.
The former senate president also said that there’s a difference between copyright and trademark.
He explained that while TAPE Inc. argued that they owned the trademark of Eat Bulaga, it doesn’t mean that they also own the copyright of the show.
Sotto expressed confidence that the court would give them a favorable decision.