United Features Syndicate v. Munsingwear
[GR 76193, Nov. 9, 1989]

Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 49, otherwise known as the "Decree on Intellectual Property", provides:

"Section 2. The rights granted by this Decree shall, from the moment of creation, subsist with respect to any of the following classes of works:
xxx xxx xxx
"(O) Prints, pictorial illustrations, advertising copies, labels, tags and box wraps. . . ."

Therefore, since the name "CHARLIE BROWN" and its pictorial representation were covered by a copyright registration way back in 1950 the same are entitled to protection under PD No. 49. Aside from its copyright registration, petitioner is also the owner of several trademark registrations and application for the name and likeness of "CHARLIE BROWN" which is the duly registered trademark and copyright of petitioner United Feature Syndicate Inc. as early as 1957 and additionally also as TV SPECIALS featuring the "PEANUTS" characters and "CHARLIE BROWN".

In upholding the right of the petitioner to maintain the present suit before our courts for unfair competition or infringement of trademarks of a foreign corporation, we are moreover recognizing our duties and the rights of foregoing states under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property to which the Philippines is a party. We are simply interpreting a solemn international commitment of the Philippines embodied in a multilateral treaty to which we are a party and which we entered into because it is in our national interest to do so.

See also FILSCAP v. Tan, L-36402, Mar. 16, 1987, Ibid.