Sanrio Company Limited v. Edgar C. Lim (Orignamura Trading)
After a 2000 NBI raid, Sanrio pursued criminal copyright charges over counterfeit Hello Kitty, Little Twin Stars, My Melody, Tuxedo Sam, and Zashikibuta goods. Sanrio lost on the merits, but the case became a leading Philippine precedent on prescription.
The record
- Court
- Supreme Court of the Philippines (First Division)
- Jurisdiction
- Philippines
- Docket No.
- G.R. No. 168662
- Filed
- 2002
- Resolved
- 2008
- Sanrio’s role
- Plaintiff
- Type
- Counterfeiting
- Claims
- Criminal copyright infringement (IP Code §217)
- Counsel — plaintiff/petitioner
- not public
- Counsel — Sanrio side
- not public
What happened
After a 2000 NBI raid, Sanrio pursued criminal copyright charges over counterfeit Hello Kitty, Little Twin Stars, My Melody, Tuxedo Sam, and Zashikibuta goods. Sanrio lost on the merits, but the case became a leading Philippine precedent on prescription.
Outcome
Petition denied (19 Feb 2008). The Court held the offense had not prescribed (filing the complaint-affidavit tolled the period) but upheld the no-probable-cause dismissal because Lim sourced the goods from legitimate suppliers without proof he knew they were fake.
The legal nuance
A loss that is still cited: filing for preliminary investigation interrupts the prescriptive clock for an IP offense.
Sources of record