Shout "congratulations" and ABS-CBN will sue you..

Can shouting "congratulations" be owned as copyright? Can a dancing  girl be prohibited from saying the word in TV? This is an interesting, albeit, contoversial issue in the ongoing copyright infringement case filed by ABS-CBN against Willie Revillame and TV5.

ABS-CBN alleged that Revillame's new show Willing Willie on TV5 is so closely similar to Wowowee, leaving no doubt that Revillame and the other defendants "deliberately and intentionally imitated Wowowee to steal the goodwill that Wowowee has built over the past 5 years of airing in ABS-CBN.

In a 33-page complaint, ABS-CBN claimed that Revillame and his co-defendants unlawfully infringed on ABS-CBN’s copyright over its show, Wowowee, citing section 172.2(l) of the Intellectual Property Code.

ABS-CBN stated that as the producer of Wowowee, it is the legal owner of a valid and subsisting copyright over each and every one of the Wowowee episodes, and is thus entitled to protection against those who steal its work.

ABS-CBN claimed that despite the new show and segment titles, Willing Willie is "undeniably a copycat of Wowowee."   Among the acts of plagiarism listed in the complaint is the fact that the dancers/characters of Wowowee are also appearing in Willing Willie, most notable of whom is April “Congratulations” Gustilo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmk-hDt27Q

Willie said in Bulgar column: "Bakit nila pagbabawalan yung tao na gamitin ang salitang kanya naman? Si April ang congratulations dahil contestant pa lang sya noon eh yun na ang salitang sinisigaw nya. Kay April yun, di galing sa ABS-CBN yun. Intellectual property ni april yun kung pinipilit nila na nanggagaya lang yung tao.."

“Isa lang po ang sasabihin ko, walang iwanan. Hindi po namin iiwan si Wil kahit anuman ang mangyari. Kasi noong time po na nawala siya sa “Wowowee”, hindi ko na po talaga alam ang gagawin ko. So, ngayon pa na kasama na namin siya, hindi na po mangyayari ‘yon ulit.” the 19-year-old dancer said.

It seems that “Congratulations” had grown attached to the controversial “Willing-wille” host who’s now facing another Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from his former mother network ABS-CBN.

“Utang na loob ko sa kanya kung sino ako ngayon. Utang na loob ko sa kanya kung saan ako ngayon. Utang na loob ko sa kanya kung paano ako nabuhay ng ganito kasaya sa mundo ngayon,” she added.

She even has a ringtone    http://www.zedge.net/ringtones/843657/congratulations-ringtone/