THE FIRST and longest domain and trade name dispute in the Philippines between the country's biggest telecommunications company and Gerry Kaimo, registered owner of the "pldt.com" domain name, ended Tuesday as the courts decided in favor of Kaimo.
In a court order, Judge Reynaldo Daway denied the request for a preliminary injunction by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) against Kaimo, who in turn was accused of allegedly infringing on the telephone company's trade name, and for "engaging in unfair competition for using the trade name."
"After carefully considering and evaluating evidences presented during the hearing and after duly considering the documents adverted to and relevant pleadings including their respective memorandum in so far as they are pertinent to the issue under consideration, the Court finds that the plaintiff (PLDT) has not been able to show its entitlement to the relief prayed for," the court ruling stated.
The ruling, dated January 29, 2004, was issued from Branch 90 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
Kaimo is the registered owner of the domain name "pldt.com," on which he recently placed a website for political commentary on the current administration.
Four years ago, PLDT filed a 1.35-million-peso lawsuit against Kaimo, arguing that he was violating the company's intellectual property over the PLDT trade name.
In its complaint, PLDT claimed that Kaimo and advocacy group Philippine League for Democratic Telecommunications Inc. (PLDTi) have violated the company's intellectual property right for using the trade name which it has been using for more than 70 years.
Reacting to the court ruling, Kaimo said: "Today, I'm very happy. We have shown that we have the capacity to fight this giant."
In a telephone interview with INQ7.net, Kaimo said that his victory shows that the "little guys" have a chance against the "giants."
"It's a battle won for now at least. I don't think the war is over though. Their resources are deep," Kaimo added, expecting that PLDT would appeal the case to higher courts.
The court has set a pre-trial conference on February 23, 2004 for Kaimo's 50-million-peso countersuit against PLDT.
Meanwhile, officials from the PLDT declined to comment on the ruling, saying that they have to wait for official word from its lawyers at Sycip Salazar.
In a court order, Judge Reynaldo Daway denied the request for a preliminary injunction by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) against Kaimo, who in turn was accused of allegedly infringing on the telephone company's trade name, and for "engaging in unfair competition for using the trade name."
"After carefully considering and evaluating evidences presented during the hearing and after duly considering the documents adverted to and relevant pleadings including their respective memorandum in so far as they are pertinent to the issue under consideration, the Court finds that the plaintiff (PLDT) has not been able to show its entitlement to the relief prayed for," the court ruling stated.
The ruling, dated January 29, 2004, was issued from Branch 90 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
Kaimo is the registered owner of the domain name "pldt.com," on which he recently placed a website for political commentary on the current administration.
Four years ago, PLDT filed a 1.35-million-peso lawsuit against Kaimo, arguing that he was violating the company's intellectual property over the PLDT trade name.
In its complaint, PLDT claimed that Kaimo and advocacy group Philippine League for Democratic Telecommunications Inc. (PLDTi) have violated the company's intellectual property right for using the trade name which it has been using for more than 70 years.
Reacting to the court ruling, Kaimo said: "Today, I'm very happy. We have shown that we have the capacity to fight this giant."
In a telephone interview with INQ7.net, Kaimo said that his victory shows that the "little guys" have a chance against the "giants."
"It's a battle won for now at least. I don't think the war is over though. Their resources are deep," Kaimo added, expecting that PLDT would appeal the case to higher courts.
The court has set a pre-trial conference on February 23, 2004 for Kaimo's 50-million-peso countersuit against PLDT.
Meanwhile, officials from the PLDT declined to comment on the ruling, saying that they have to wait for official word from its lawyers at Sycip Salazar.
