La Chemise Lacoste, S.A. vs. Fernandez
[129 SCRA 373 (1984)]

“As early as 1927, this Court was, and it still is, of the view that a foreign corporation not doing business in the Philippines needs no license to sue before Philippine courts for infringement of trademark and unfair competition. Thus, in Western Equipment and Supply Co. v. Reyes (51 Phil. 115), this Court held that a foreign corporation which has never done any business in the Philippines and which is unlicensed and unregistered to do business here, but is widely and favorably known in the Philippines through the use therein of its products bearing its corporate and tradename, has a legal right to maintain an action in the Philippines to restrain the residents and inhabitants thereof from organizing a corporation therein bearing the same name as the foreign corporation, when it appears that they have personal knowledge of the existence of such a foreign corporation, and it is apparent that the purpose of the proposed domestic corporation is to deal and trade in the same goods as those of the foreign corporation. We further held:
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". . . That company is not here seeking to enforce any legal or control rights arising from, or growing out of, any business which it has transacted in the Philippine Islands. The sole purpose of the action: "'Is to protect its reputation, its corporate name, its goodwill, whenever that reputation, corporate name or goodwill have, through the natural development of its trade, established themselves. And it contends that its rights to the use of its corporate and trade name: "'Is a property right, a right in rem, which it may assert and protect against all the world, in any of the courts of the world — even in jurisdictions where it does not transact business — just the same as it may protect its tangible property, real or personal, against trespass, or conversion. Citing Sec. 10, Nims on Unfair Competition and TradeMarks and cases cited; secs. 21-22, Hopkins on TradeMarks, Trade Names and Unfair Competition and cases cited.' That point is sustained by the authorities, and is well stated in Hanover Star Mining Co. v. Allen and Wheeler Co. (208 Fed., 513), in which the syllabus says: "'Since it is the trade and not the mark that is to be protected, a trade-mark acknowledges no territorial boundaries of municipalities or states or nations, but extends to every market where the trader's goods have become known and identified by the use of the mark.'" Our recognizing the capacity of the petitioner to sue is not by any means novel or precedent setting. Our jurisprudence is replete with cases illustrating instances when foreign corporations not doing business in the Philippines may nonetheless sue in our courts.”