Tito Sotto, one-third of the iconic comic trio Tito, Vic and Joey that had recently decamped from their 44-year-old noontime show “Eat Bulaga!” at GMA 7 in a huff over changes being made by the show’s producer TAPE Inc., appeared in court on Thursday for the first hearing on the case they had lodged against TAPE Inc.
The trio brought suit against their former producer and GMA 7 for alleged copyright infringement, specifically the use of the name “Eat Bulaga!” TVJ maintain that they own the rights to the name and the theme music of the show, since it was supposedly Joey De Leon who coined the name and Vic Sotto who composed the music.
Tito, who along with Vic and Joey now host the new show “E.A.T.” on TV5, said the GMA7 show was engaging in “deception” by continuing to brand itself as “Eat Bulaga!” when it supposedly has no right to the name, and is no longer the original show either.
“They’re deceiving the people by saying na sila ‘yung Eat Bulaga!,” said Tito.
“Puwede naman nila ituloy ang programa kung gusto nila, pero palitan nila yung pangalan nila. ‘Yun lang naman ang punto namin… Pinipilit ninyo sa tao, sa publiko, na kayo ang Eat Bulaga, e hindi naman kayo,” he added.