PATENT and NEW MODELS OR DESIGNS

The Living Letter by Alvin J. Buenaventura of FILCOLS
Translated from Filipino by Beverly W. Siy

Patent for Small Innovations or Improvement of Inventions
Creations of the human mind are called Intellectual property or IP.

There are two kinds of IP: the copyright and the industrial property. Under the industrial property is a branch called patent. It is the right and the protection given by the government to inventors and their inventions.

There are two kinds of inventions: 1. Product
2. Process

These inventions give answers or solution to various problems of the mankind.

An example of an invented product is the reusable coffin by Antonio Andes, Sr. of Taguig City. Here is an invented process: Dr. Ramon Barba’s process of watering the mango trees that involves water mixed with potassium nitrate. The mixture is sprayed onto the mango trees. The process helps the trees bear flowers and fruits faster than usual.

Andes’ invention, the reusable coffin, is actually made up of two coffins. The first one is made of wood and the other is made of steel. The one that is made of steel is what visitors and mourners will see from the outside. Towards the end of the burial ceremony, it is the wooden coffin that will be put inside the tomb.

The steel coffin is, again, clean and ready to go for the next customer. (If you wish, you may enlist your father-in-law now for future availment of this product.)
The invention of Andes is very useful and a problem-solver for a dead man’s poor family. It saves them a lot of money because wooden coffin is much cheaper. All they have to do is rent the steel coffin. It’s also cheaper to rent the steel coffin than buy a traditional one. (If I were you, I would already be falling in line to enlist my father-in-law for this kind of invention.)

But wait, there’s more! Mary Ann, daughter of Andes, creates designs for the steel coffin. It is made up of images that evoke happiness. So the coffin looks more exciting than before. After some time, Andes added another innovation in his invention. He believed that a wake or a funeral becomes more intimate and personal if the mourners can listen to favorite music and videos of the person who passed away. So he thought of putting an LCD screen and a music player on the coffin. The grieving family may also opt to show the videos of their demised loved one through the LCD screen.

Mary Ann’s design, the LCD and the music player are just small innovations of the original invention. Even if these are just innovations, the government still gives them protection through patent. Industrial designs are also given patent.


On the next issue of Perlas ng Silangan Balita, layout designs of integrated circuits and new kinds of plants will be discussed.


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