TVJ to file legal action vs. TAPE over 'Eat Bulaga' YouTube channel; TAPE denies hacking account

TVJ Productions' legal counsel Atty. Enrique Dela Cruz said they are preparing to file legal action against Television and Production Exponents (TAPE) Inc. over their access to the "Eat Bulaga" YouTube channel.

TAPE recently announced that they have regained access to the channel, which had been inactive since Tito Sotto, Joey De Leon, Vic Sotto, and the rest of the former "Eat Bulaga" hosts left the company in May.

In a statement, Dela Cruz said TVJ Productions finds this news "disturbing" and that TAPE previously did not have access to the channel.

"The owner of the YouTube channel is the owner of the email used to register it. It is not TAPE. That is why they never had access to this account," he said.

"This may constitute a cyber crime if they hacked into the account or made misrepresentations to YouTube," he added.

Dela Cruz also said the content of the channel are past episodes of "Eat Bulaga" and that TVJ owns the copyright to them and all derivative works.

TAPE Inc. legal counsel Atty. Maggie Abraham Garduque denied that the company hacked the account and said they are not liable for cybercrime.

"Being the owner of the account, TAPE was able to coordinate with YouTube to change the email and the password and the new contact person in behalf of the company," she said.

According to TAPE, the person who created the account was its employee when it was made and the account itself was made on behalf of the company.

"TAPE Inc. is ready to show the official receipts from YouTube stating that it is the one which spent to create the account. The bank account linked to the YouTube account is likewise owned by Tape Inc," she said.

—MGP, GMA Integrated News