MANILA, Philippines?When Cesar Gaupo went to register his name as a trademark at the Intellectual Property Office in early 2007, shortly after he launched his couture shoe brand, the veteran fashion designer was in for a surprise. Somebody had already beat him to it.

?It?s not like my name is so common,? Gaupo said in a phone interview. ?It?s not Ramos or Reyes. I don?t even know my own relatives!?

Since that time, Gaupo has been on an uphill battle to recover the rights to his name. In December, upon his lawyer?s advice, he filed four separate applications with the IPO to register his name and its variations (typeface, etc.) as a mark.

He has had to go through the ridiculous exercise of securing affidavits from individuals?clients, journalists?who have known him in his 30-plus-year career, validating that he is, in fact, Cesar Gaupo.

A check with the IPO website (www.ipophil.gov.ph/tmsearch/) revealed five pending applications to the Gaupo name and its variants, including one by a man who lists his line of business as nearly similar to the designer?s.

A further search on the website showed that the same man has 27 other intellectual property applications, among them for the names People Are People, Sanuk, Muji and Rafe New York. The status of the applications is listed as either ?Deemed Registered,? ?Pending Application,? ?For Updating,? ?Abandoned? or ?Allowed for Publication.?

People Are People is a popular local clothing store found in several malls. It?s listed as ?Deemed Registered? to the same man. (The owners of the boutique declined to be interviewed for this article.) Sanuk is a Thai footwear brand, and Muji is a famous fashion chain in Japan.

Tina Ocampo, franchise owner of Rafe New York, said she was unaware there was an IPR (intellectual property right) application for the name. Their company had no trouble registering their ownership at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, a corporate entity will not always use the same name of its corporation in the brands it will sell, said lawyer Gaby Concepcion, so that the SEC may not know if a brand name owned by a particular company is registered by another at the IPO.

For example, ?XYZ Corp. will not necessarily use XYZ on their products. XYZ Corp. will probably sell ?Barba dolls? or ?Sidekick shoes,?? she said. ?You will have to go to the IPO and register those brand names or trademarks separately.?

Concepcion is Gaupo?s lawyer.

Rafe New York is a high-end accessories brand designed by New York-based Rafe Totengco. The IPO website revealed Totengco has filed four applications for his mark, several months after someone else had filed an application for the same name. The first application is now listed as ?Allowed for Publication,? meaning Totengco has up to 30 days to file for an opposition after a public notice is released. The Ocampos recently opened here the first Rafe New York store outside the US.

?That?s very alarming,? Ocampo said, who expressed concern that her own high-end accessories brand called Celestina could become the next casualty.

Intellectual property expert lawyer Lorna Patajo-Kapunan said what happened to Gaupo was ?obviously done with malice and with the intent to gain... This is misappropriating and unfairly trading on somebody else?s name. You can?t go registering other people?s names. It?s immoral and against public policy.?

Concepcion said there has been no attempt to ?sell? the earliest IPR application to the designer. The Philippines follows the ?first to file? system.

Stellar career

Gaupo has had a stellar career as a clothing designer. At one time, he was the creative director of the Hong Kong luxury fashion brand Shanghai Tang. Not long ago, he diversified into designing bespoke shoes. His attempt to register his mark was to have been timed for the opening of his shoe boutique at Greenbelt 5, Makati.

Patajo-Kapunan, chair of the Copyright Committee of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association, said the Department of Trade and Industry circular protecting well-known trademarks should also apply in Gaupo?s case.

??Well-known trademarks shouldn?t extend only to foreign brands. If you?re using that circular to protect brands like Louis Vuitton, YSL, Chanel and Dior, the same protection should be extended, and more so, to our local designers. Our consuming public knows [who Gaupo is].?

(The IPO website showed IPR applications for famous brands by individuals or corporations other than their foreign owners, including Versace, Armani, Prada.)

For local brands, Concepcion said, ?The best protection is to register their brands and trademarks in accordance with the Intellectual Property Code. This also means that we should raise awareness among, not only our designers, but also all businessmen and entrepreneurs to register their trademarks, service marks and trade names with the IPO. This is the only way to truly protect the reputation they have established painstakingly through the years.

?Unfortunately, this is usually the last thing on their to-do list,? she added. ?This truly may take a little time and a little expense, but it is worth the effort as there are individuals out there who, with malicious intent or otherwise, like to copy or ride on the coattails of the goodwill that other businesses have established through the years.?

Patajo-Kapunan said individuals like Gaupo could file for opposition if they feel they are ?prejudiced and their trademarks are granted in favor of the [other] applicant.?

The proper time to file an opposition is within 30 days from when the application has already been published.

A registered mark may still be questioned in a so-called cancellation proceeding. This can be done within five years from the registration of a mark.

?At the appropriate time, Mr. Gaupo will be taking all the possible legal avenues to assert his rights to his name and [the] reputation he has painstakingly built over the last 30 years. At this time, he intends to pursue his pending applications with the IPO,? said Concepcion.