THE PHILIPPINES, DECEMBER 2011: GMA Network Inc and ABS-CBN Corporation test the speed of the judiciary with a long-running case involving arrival footage of Iraqi captive Angelo dela Cruz aired on July 22, 2004. ABS-CBN had claimed that the footage was stolen by GMA, which said was it taken from Reuters Television Service, of which GMA is a subscriber.
According to Bong Osorio, Head of ABS-CBN Corporate Communications, ABS-CBN aired reports about GMA’s violation of the Company’s intellectual property rights in the programs Insider and Magandang Umaga Bayan, on July 23 and 24, 2004, which GMA claimed were defamatory.
GMA then filed a complaint on November 10, 2005 seeking damages against ABS-CBN., which was later suspended by the Regional Trial Court and dismissed by the Court of Appeals. In a recent press release, GMA announced that it has filed a petition with the Supreme Court to review the P100 million civil damages case. It has also filed a criminal complaint for libel against ABS-CBN, which is still awaiting resolution by the Department of Justice.
With twists and turns because of technicalities, the case’s resolution in court remains a lengthy and expensive legal argument.
