EN
BANC
BRISTOL
MYERS
COMPANY,
Petitioner,
G.
R.
No. L-21587
May
19,
1966
-versus-
THE
DIRECTOR OF
PATENTS
AND UNITED
AMERICAN
PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.,
Respondents.
D
E C I S I
O N
BENGZON,
J.P., J :
A Petition for Registration
in the Principal Register of the Patent Office of the trademark
"BIOFERIN"
was filed on October 21, 1957 by United American Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Said domestic corporation first used the afore-stated trademark in the
Philippines on August 13, 1957. It covers "a medicinal preparation of
antihistamic,
analgesic, antipyritic with vitamin C and Bioflavenoid used in the
treatment
of common colds, influenza and other febrile diseases with capillary
hemmorrhagic
tendencies." The product falls under Class 6 of the official
classification,
that is, "Medicines and Pharmaceutical Preparations".
Bristol Myers Co.,
a corporation of the State of Delaware, U.S.A., filed on January 6,
1959
an opposition to the application. Said oppositor is the owner in the
Philippines
of the trademark "BUFFERIN" under Certificate of Registration No. 4578
issued by the Philippine Patent Office on March 3, 1954. Its trademark
is also registered in the United States under Certificate of
Registration
No. 566190 issued on November 4, 1952. It was first used in the
Philippines
on May 13, 1953. The product covered by "BUFFERIN" also belongs
to
Class 6, Medicines and Pharmaceutical Preparations. Designated as
"Antacid
analgesic", it is intended for relief in cases of "simple headaches,
neuralgia,
colds, menstrual pain and minor muscular aches."
The thrust of
oppositor's
contention was that the registration of the applicant's trademark
"BIOFERIN"
would violate its rights and interest in its registered trademark
"BUFFERIN"
as well as mislead and confuse the public as to the source and origin
of
the goods covered by the respective marks, in view of the allegedly
practically
the same spelling, pronunciation and letter type design of the two
trademarks
covering goods of the same class.
The parties,
thereafter,
filed on January 18, 1961 a joint petition stipulating as to the facts
and submitting the case upon the issue of whether or not, considering
all
the factors involved, in both trademarks, as the parties would discuss
in their memoranda, there will be such confusing similarity between the
two trademarks as will be likely to deceive the purchasing public.
After submission of
memoranda on June 21, 1963, the Director of Patents rendered a Decision
granting the petition and dismissing the opposition, on the ground
that,
all factors considered, the trademarks in question are not confusingly
similar, so that the damage feared by the oppositor will not result.
From said Decision,
the oppositor appealed to this Court by Petition for Review filed on
July
24, 1963.
The sole issue raised
thereby is: Are the trademarks "BIOFERIN" and "BUFFERIN" as presented
to
the public in their respective labels, confusingly similar?
Appellant contends
that confusing similarity will obtain because both products are
primarily
used for the relief of pains such as headaches and colds; and because
the
words "BIOFERIN and "BUFFERIN" are practically the same in spelling and
pronunciation.
In determining whether
two trademarks are confusingly similar, the test is not simply to take
their words and compare the spelling and pronunciation of said words.
Rather,
it is consider the two marks in their entirety, as they appear in the
respective
labels, in relation to the goods to which they are attached. Said rule
was enunciated by this Court through Justice Felix Bautista Angelo in
Mead
Johnson & Co., vs. N.V.J. Van Dorp, Ltd., L-17501, April 27, 1963,
thus:
"It is true that
between
petitioner's trademark 'ALACTA' and respondent's 'ALASKA' there are
similarities
in spelling, appears and sound for both are composed of six letters of
three syllables each and each syllable has the same vowel, but in
determining
if they are confusingly similar a comparison of said words is not the
only
determining factor. The two marks in their marks in their entirety as
they
appear in the respective labels must also be considered in relation to
the goods to which they are attached. The discerning eye of the
observer
must focus not only on the predominant words but also on the other
features
appearing in both labels in order that he may draw his conclusion
whether
one is confusingly similar to the other."
Applying this test to the
trademarks involved in this case, it is at once evident that the
Director
of Patents did not err in finding no confusing similarity. For though
the
words "BIOFERING" and "BUFFERIN" and "Bufferin" have the same suffix
and
similar-sounding prefixes, they appear in their respective labels with
strikingly different backgrounds and surroundings, as to color, size
and
design.
For convenience We
sum up these differences as follows:
"Relevant Factors
"BIOFERIN"
"BUFFERIN"
1. Shape & Size
of Rectangular about Rectangular,
Label 3-3/4"
2-1/4" 3-3/4" 1-1/4"
2. Color of Label
Predominantly
Predominantly
Yellow White
3. Color background
Olive-green Blue
of word-mark
4. Over-all Layout
At the top center At left side of label —
word-mark
"BIOFE-
"BUFFERIN"; with
RIN"; below
it are "Bristol Myers Co.,
contents of
medicine, New York, N.Y."
arranged
horizontally;
below it; at right side,
at bottom,
center,
contents, indications,
"United
Pharma
dosage are grouped
ceuticals,
Inc."
together, printed
in
olive-green
perpendicularly.
background.
At left
side —
dosage,
printed
perpendicularly;
at rigth
side,
indications,
also
perpendicularly
printed.
5. Forms of Product
Capsules — Tablets —
label says:
label says:
"50
capsules"
"36 Tablets"
6. Prescription
Label
states: No such
"To be
dispensed
statement
only by or
on
the
prescription
of a
physicians"
Accordingly,
taken as they
will appear to a prospective customer, the trademarks in question are
not
apt to confuse. Furthermore, the product of the applicant is expressly
stated as dispensable only upon doctor's prescription, while that of
oppositor
does not require the same. The chances of being confused into
purchasing
one for the other are therefore all the more rendered negligible.
Although
oppositor avers that some drugstores sell "BIOFERIN: without asking for
a doctor's prescription, the same if true would be an irregularity not
attributable to the applicant, who has already clearly stated the
requirement
of a doctor's prescription upon the face of the label of its product.
WHEREFORE, the Decision
of the Director of Patents appealed from is hereby affirmed without
costs.
So ordered.
Bengzon, C.J.,
Bautista Angelo, Concepcion, J.B.L. Reyes, Barrera, Dizon, Regala,
Makalintal,
Zaldivar and Sanchez, JJ., concur. |