Tuesday, January 08, 2008 Cabaero: Owning the Sinulog name By Nini B. Cabaero Beyond 30
THE Sinulog Foundation Inc. did the right thing in having the name and logo design of the Sinulog patented.
The point of holding a patent is not merely to formalize ownership of a name or a design. Owning a patent is not to make the Sinulog for the exclusive use of the foundation and the Cebu City Government.
Ownership means the ability to regulate the use of the name or logo and to go after those who attach nastiness to the Sinulog. The Sinulog is an annual celebration held every third Sunday of January as Cebu’s way of honoring the Sto. Nino or the child Jesus.
It was two years ago when the foundation first thought of taking a patent on the name and logo following reports of copycats and unofficial usage of the brand. The Sinulog had mushroomed everywhere, outside Cebu and outside the country, and there was the need for regulation.
Ricky Ballesteros, foundation executive director, announced that the Sinulog is now patented. A certificate approving the patent application was issued by the Intellectual Property Office. The patent would remain in the foundation’s name until March 26, 2017.
Those who wish to use the Sinulog name and logo in their original design would now have to ask permission from the Sinulog Foundation Inc.
Ballesteros assured that the foundation would still allow others to use the name, especially in celebrations. He cited the “Sinulog sa San Francisco” in the United States or the “Sinulog sa Carmen” in a northern Cebu town. The Sinulog has already become a byword, he said.
When in doubt, there is no harm in asking for permission.
What can be regulated would be the use of the name for revenue-generating purposes. Ballesteros recalled that a website used the Sinulog name without permission for travel and hotel bookings. (I checked the website at www.sinulog.com and found a sign that said it is currently being updated or reconstructed.) The official website is www.sinulog.ph.
In 2006 when Ballesteros first worried about the misuse of the name Sinulog, the foundation received reports of copycats holding their own versions of Cebu’s annual celebration. These copycats, he had said, were using the same Sinulog name and logo.
At times, the copying turned embarrassing rather than flattering to Cebu.
With a patent, those who wish to use the original and foundation-designed name and logo would have to get the permission of the Sinulog Foundation.
Violators may be accused of intellectual property rights infringement and may be ordered to stop using the Sinulog name.
It is right that the organization that runs every Sinulog celebration in Cebu finally “owns” the name. But owning the name is not the end. It is a means to regulating the Sinulog and ensuring that only quality celebrations be attached to the name.
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To get permission from the Sinulog Foundation Inc., requests may be addressed to Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama, foundation chairman. You may deliver requests to City Hall.
