by Ricardo Jimenez
A local Intellectual Property (IP) group and an inventor society are taking the lead to serve their members and to raise public awareness on trends to make life a lot more convenient.
“We now have the Davao Intellectual Property Society (DIPS) which has brought under one umbrella academics, researchers, inventors, scientists and local government units.” said DIPS president, lawyer Marie Glenn Cedeno Sorilla, an inventor representing the University of Philippines in Mindanao (UP-Min) in the society.
“The society is devoted to protect IP and promote IP awareness in the Davao region,” Sorilla added.
Another group, the Davao Inventors Society (DIS) represented by Samuel Abrenilla, helped put up the DIPS in November 2008 after advocating for the passage of a resolution by the City Council, to petition the IP Society of the Philippines to establish a satellite office here.
Abrenilla said there is a breakthrough in the field of energy conservation concerning the use of lamps.
“There is today the LED (Light Emitting Diode) which is already available, but not many in the buying public are aware of except DIS members. Its lifespan is from 20 to 30 years as against the one to two years of conventional fluorescents,” Abrenilla added.
Comparing LED with ordinary fluorescent, power consumption is only from two to three percent compared to the latter, he stressed.
With LED, there is no heat, only luminance. Therefore, it can save energy, the production of which (from hydroelectric or bunker fuel) is a source of global warming leading to climate change. The disadvantage of LED is that there are very few models available due to its high price compared to conventional lamps. But in the long run, it will be cost effective because of its long life, he said.
On the use of compact flourcescent lamps (CFLs), some savings can be realized compared to conventional lamps. This is because a 10 watt CFL gives as much brightness as a 25 watt lamp, assuring reduced power consumption.
On power saving devices, he said the name of the gadget is “power factor corrector or power correction system”. It is nothing else but a mere capacitor in a box. It works on electric-motor run appliances such as a refrigerator or aircopnditioner. It does not work on lamps or those with “resistance or reactive devices”.
On the issue if they are legal or illegal, he said:”Dili sila illegal kay wala may gikawat nga kuryente. Ang proceso mao: sa paggamit sa motor, dili na siya mahuyrot ug kaon ang kuryente. Naa na siya excess nga kuryente nga mubalik sa linya. Kung naa siya capacitor sa linya, ma-conserve siya didto. So, dili siya mogawas nga maihap ug balik sa metro. It’s not illegal.” (There’s nothing illegal here. No power theft is involved. Simply explained, the appliance fitted with a capacitor uses less power which goes back to the electric wire. It does not get out then come back to the meter, hence nothing is illegal here).
There is another power saving device called “inverter”, he said. Its purpose is to control power consumption, depending on the load of the appliances. “Kung ang setting sa aircon is 16 or 18 degrees Celsius, dili man gyud full ang setting sa imong aircon. With inverter technology, ma-kontrol ang andar sa imong compressor, so dili dako ang kaon sa kuryente. (An aircon set to say, 16 or 18 degrees Celsius, does not have to be put on maximum cool The inverter will control the operation of the compressor, thereby saving power consumption).
Meanwhile, applicants for trademarks of those with industrial design can simply file their application with the DIPS satellite office. There’s no need to go to the Makati office. So far, there have been 158 trade applications entertained locally, 60 were applications for industrial design, Sorilla said.
“Right then and there, the DIPS entertains local applications. We issue application numbers and application list. This means protecting the trademark up to 10 years from the date of filing,” Sorilla added.
“As for patent utility models and industrial designs, applicants can file with us, but the examination is done in Makati. Applicants can follow up the status of their application by checking with us to keep them updated of developments,” the DIPS president assured. (email me at rjrjrajimenez@gmail.com)
