G.R. No. 222366 - W Land Holding, Inc. vs. Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

On December 2, 2005, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. filed an application with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) for the trademark “W” covering Classes 43 (hotel and catering services) and 44 (medical and beauty care services). The mark was registered on February 26, 2007.
On April 20, 2006, W Land Holdings, Inc. applied to register its own “W” mark for Class 36 (financial and real estate services). Starwood opposed, and in a BLA Decision dated April 23, 2008, the IPO Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA) held W Land’s mark confusingly similar and denied W Land’s motion for reconsideration in July 2010.

On May 29, 2009, W Land filed an Inter Partes Petition to Cancel Starwood’s “W” registration for non-use under Section 151.1(c) of the IP Code, asserting Starwood had no hotel or establishment in the Philippines. Starwood countered that it filed a notarized Declaration of Actual Use (DAU) on December 2, 2008, and presented evidence of use via interactive websites accessible to Philippine residents.
In a Decision dated May 11, 2012, the BLA granted cancellation, finding no proof of use in the Philippines. Starwood appealed to the IPO Director General (DG), who reversed the BLA in a Decision dated January 10, 2014, recognizing Starwood’s DAU and website evidence as showing actual use. W Land then appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), which, in a Decision dated June 22, 2015, and a Resolution dated January 7, 2016, affirmed the IPO DG. W Land filed the present petition for review on certiorari.

Whether the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the IPO Director General’s dismissal of W Land’s Petition for Cancellation of Starwood’s “W” mark on the ground of non-use in the Philippines.