BIZ BUZZ: Salcedo Auctions vs. Martel trademark war
An intellectual property war is raging between Salcedo Auctions Inc. and businessman Paolo Roberto Martel over trademark ownership of “The Well-Appointed Life” (TWAL), a brand used in a series of auctions for the affluent over the years.
Martel filed a petition at the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) for the cancellation of the TWAL trademark six years ago, alleging “bad faith” on the part of Salcedo, which had registered the mark solely in its name, documents show.
Martel, an expert in watches and automobiles, presented to the IPOPHL a copy of a memorandum of agreement dated June 3. 2014, to prove his claim that the parties had agreed to jointly contribute capital, share the expenses equally and co-own the TWAL brand. He and his wife, Cris, actively participated in the planning, preparation and staging of the auction, from logo development, up to the branding, marketing and promotion of TWAL, according to the petition.
The first auction held at the Rockwell Tent in 2014 was a success, encouraging both parties to jointly organize other auctions under the TWAL mark. But somewhere along the way—the apple of discord is the usual: money matters—the Martels and the Lerma couple behind Salcedo had a falling out.
Martel terminated the partnership in 2018 and demanded an accounting of finances. When he found out that TWAL had been already registered under Salcedo’s sole ownership, he petitioned for cancellation.
For its part, Salcedo countered that it’s the “true and sole owner” of TWAL mark, being the first and continuous user since 2010, predating the partnership with the Martels. Intermittent collaborations didn’t give the Martels any standing to seek the trademark cancellation, adding that there was “never any clear agreement whatsoever” that Martel would co-own it, the auction house argued. There was a need for separate agreements to make the co-ownership binding, it stressed.
Martel won the first round of battle. An adjudication officer at the IPOPHL Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA) ordered the cancellation of TWAL trademark in 2020, citing the minutes of the meeting and email correspondence discussing the co-ownership with Martel.
Salcedo had appealed the decision but the case became moot and academic as the registration lapsed. In 2022, Salcedo refiled for trademark registration, which was approved by the Bureau of Trademarks. Martel filed another opposition, which was sustained by the BLA.
“While Respondent argues that Opposer was in talks with them to purchase a stake with the corporation and never got back to them, it emphasized that ownership and/or purchase of shares of stock of a corporation and ownership of a trademark are two very different concepts, and can exist independently of each other,” the BLA said in a Feb. 23, 2024, order.
The war isn’t over as the BLA decision is still under appeal to date. The next battlegrounds are at the Bureau of Trademarks, then office of IPOPHL director general, and the case may still be elevated to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
