After a long and seemingly all-too-arduous wait, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the Philippines has ordered the recognition of manager Lizza Nakpil’s ownership of the trademark “Rivermaya.”  

The order in Decision No. 2009–1003 was signed by IPO director Estrellita Beltran-Abelardo, and promulgated August 18, 2009.

The ruling states that all “concerts, album, and song releases, contracts, or projects by any groups, producers, sponsors, and venues utilizing the name ‘Rivermaya’” without the express authorization of Nakpil would “constitute a violation of law.”  

This puts musicians Mark Escueta, Japs Sergio, Mike Elgar, and Jayson Fernandez---who had been using the name---in a tricky situation.

In September, Warner Music Philippines put on select record shelves their new album titled, “Closest Thing to Heaven;” this, even as the IPO explicitly states that violators of the ruling will be “subject to legal action, both civil and criminal, aside from damages and other penalties which may be imposed by law.”

Warner Music Philippines has “no comment” on the matter.

Escueta, in a phone call made by Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online, refused to talk about the ruling saying, “we’re still discussing everything with our lawyer.”

The dispute over the right to use the “Rivermaya” trademark began late 2008 when the band “fired” Nakpil allegedly due to “trust issues,” among others.

Nakpil registered the “Rivermaya” trademark with the IPO on July 7, 2008. Escueta, Sergio, Elgar, and Fernandez filed an opposition to the ownership of the said trademark on October 21, 2008.

According to Nakpil, the IPO ruling is retroactive, thus, effective to the date of her registration.

She added that the ruling likewise gives protection to her right of ownership “worldwide,” as a result of the Philippine government’s participation in international intellectual property treaties and conventions.

Is she still open to discussions with Escueta, his group, or Warner Music Philippines?

“My door is always open. I’ve never closed it in the first place,” she told Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online in an exclusive interview.    

Nakpil hinted that she has been rendered “exhausted” by the case and that she is thinking of retiring the name.

“There’s too much ugliness, sadness…it’s too much already…I don’t want Rivermaya to be remembered for this—I want it to be remembered for the music.”