DESTRUCTION OF COUNTERFEIT CIGARETTES SHOWCASES IP ADJUDICATION IN ACTION

February 14, 2023

Counterfeit Winston cigarettes worth over P20 million were destroyed on 30 January 2023, at the Digama/ Greenleaf 88 Non-Hazardous Waste Management Facility in Porac, Pampanga as a result of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines’ (IPOPHL) finding that said products violated the IP Code. 

The destruction of 261 master cases of counterfeit Winston cigarettes was organized by the Vergara Mamangun Jamero (VMJ) Law Office – the legal representatives of Japan Tobacco, Inc. (JTI) which owns the Winston brand. IPOPHL and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were among the witnesses of the event.

“This outcome was a result of IPOPHL’s adjudication via a Decision rendered by Atty. Nathaniel S. Arevalo, Director of the Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA), finding the Respondent in this case guilty of trademark infringement and the cigarettes as counterfeit in order to protect the IP rights of the stakeholder,” said IPOPHL’s BLA Assistant Director and IP Rights Enforcement Office (IEO) Supervising Director Atty. Christine Pangilinan-Canlapan who joined the event.

“This coordinated process—from the seizure of the cigarettes to IPOPHL’s prosecution of the case and the confirmation that these are counterfeit leading to the eventual condemnation to dispose of the illegal goods—is all part of our nation’s IP system,” Pangilinan-Canlapan added.

The adjudication is the result of the proceedings brought about by the JTI when it first reported the matter of counterfeit cigarettes in 2013 before the NBI’s IP Rights Division (IPRD). The IPRD then filed for a search warrant at a Manila regional trial court. The granting of the search warrant enabled the NBI to seize the counterfeit cigarettes in a warehouse in Pasay City.

The case of the unauthorized use of the WINSTON trademark was then filed at the BLA, which found clear acts of trademark infringement prohibited under Sections 155 and 156 of Republic Act 8293 or the IP Code of 1997. The decision became final and executory on 16 January 2022.  

“IPOPHL’s adjudication process is one of the pillars that support our whole-of-government approach in IP enforcement, with the NBI being an active member of the inter-agency National Committee on IP Rights (NCIPR) which IPOPHL leads as acting chair,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said.

“Furthermore, our IP information and education campaigns are making great gains as we see more action being taken by IP rights holders to protect their IP assets,” Barba added. 

“This creates a whole-of-society convergence in our IP system where our IP rights holders actively work with the NCIPR to ensure the protection of their IP rights,” the Director General said. # # # (Joseph Nacino, Communications and Marketing Writer)