SC bars registration of similar ‘W’ trademarks

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that trademarks with logo designs that closely resemble existing registered marks could not be registered if they were likely to confuse consumers. In a decision written by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando of the First Division granted the petitions of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, LLC and reversed previous rulings that allowed Oceanic Empire Limited to register the trademarks “W Globalcenter” and “W Fifth