THE PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. admitted in court that when it filed suit against Gerardo Kaimo--registered owner of the website www.pldt.com--the phone firm had not obtained registration of the trademarks covering the initials "PLDT" and its corporate logo in any of the evidence it had previously presented in its allegations of trademark infringement.

PLDT sued Kaimo for trademark infringement when he used the company logo in a satirical website critical of PLDT. Kaimo is also a board member of the Philippine League for Democratic Telecommunications Inc. (PLDTI), a consumer group vocal about its stance against PLDT's phone metering plan.

Lawyer Vicente Amador of the Sycip Salazar law offices made this admission upon the resumption of the hearings over PLDT's attempt to obtain an injunction and damages against the satirical website.

"They don't own the trademark over the initials and the logo, and they established their website more than two years before Gerry Kaimo even registered the domain name www.pldt.com, and more than two-and-a-half years before the pldt.com website went up. Where is their case?" asked lawyer Teddy Cruz, legal counsel for Kaimo.

Last Monday's proceedings also saw the end of the cross-examination of Horacio Lavides, PLDT's director of media relations, by lawyer Rod Domingo, legal counsel for PLDTI. Previously, Lavides was the subject of spirited debate over his testimony as an expert witness on media affairs and, more specifically, on the estimation of irreparable damage to PLDT's corporate reputation. Over the vigorous objections of both defense counsels at the onset of the admission of witnesses, Judge Reynaldo Daway allowed the characterization of Lavides as an expert witness on the above-mentioned subject matters.