DEL MONTE CORPORATION V. CA

181 SCRA 410

FACTS:

Petitioner filed a case for trademark infringement and unfair competition against Sunshine Sauce. The latter for a time used the bottles of Del Monte in packaging their own catsup sauce. It also used bottles which were similar to those of petitioner.

HELD:

There is a distinction between infringment of trademark and unfair competition:
1. Infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark while unfair competition is the passing off of one’s goods as that of another
2. In infringement, fraudulent intent is unnecessary while it is otherwise for unfair competition
3. In infringement, prior registration of the trademark is needed whereas in unfair competition, registration is not necessary.

In assessing the two trademarks, side-by-side comparison is not the final test of similarity because average buyers don’t make minute scrutiny of
label details.

Also, in testing if there has been prior registration, registration in the supplemental register isn’t what the law contemplates.