INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT PROTECTION AS DETERMINANT FOR INNOVATION CAPABILITY: A STUDY OF SMEs IN BAUCHI METROPOLITAN.

Abstract

Many studies conducted on what determines Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) innovation capability. However, several determinants considered such as funding innovation activities, university-industry collaborations, research and development, government procurement on advance technology, availability of scientist and engineers. Yet the exploration of Intellectual Property Right Protection (IPRP) (formal and informal) as determinant of innovation is newness in the area of the study. The research objective is to find out how IPRP determine innovation capability. Registered SMEs under National Agency for Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (NASME). In the trade of metalwork and fabrication constitute the population of the study, the sample size of 227 obtained through Taro Yamani formula, simple and systematic random sampling techniques was used to draw study sample. Questionnaire was used as method of data collection using 5point likert scale on each item of the variables and administered to the SMEs owners /managers with (200) 88% response. The data was subject to inferential statistics of Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, to ascertain how the independent variables (image design, patent right, trademark and trade secret) determine innovation. The result shows that: trade secret and image design found to be statistically significant while patent right and trademark is non-statistically significant as determinant of innovation at five per cent alpha level. The research concluded that informal IPR protection determined innovation capability while the formal IPR protection has no effect in determining innovation among those in the trade of metalwork and fabrication in Bauchi metropolitan. It is therefore, recommended that: Government needs to encourage registration of formal IPRP (patent and trademark) and to ensure enforcement of IPRP laws against potentials imitators. Business owners/managers should try as much as possible to confine and preserve their peculiarities in which they have competitive edge over their rivals. And both the formal and informal IPRP laws be enforced to ensure compliance that will turn increase innovation in every business endeavour.