An assessment of the effectiveness of intelectual property rights protection and its impact on innovation in Tanzania

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of intellectual property rights protection and its impact on innovation in Tanzania. The study was conducted in Dar es Salaam. The participants in the study were people from different cadres who are intellectual property stakeholders. Others are employees from COSOTA and BRELA. A total of 50 people were involved in the study. The study applied the simple purposefully sampling technique in singling out the right participants from the population. This was done in order to get a sample of the people who are knowledgeable about intellectual property. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Data collection was done by using structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done used descriptive analysis because it provides simple summaries about the sample, such as percentage reference of respondents in a sample. The main findings show that there is a relationship between Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Innovation in Tanzania. On another note the study found that the level of public awareness on IPRs, accessibility of IPRs requirement and IPRs protection system in Tanzania is still very low, and hinders innovation in the country. The conclusion demonstrates a positive effect of IPRs on innovation does not necessarily mean that IPRs are good for the region, but that it needs a more effective institutional environment to operate efficiently. The study recommends that The Government of Tanzania needs to put in place policies and incentives which encourage local inventors and innovation and discourage piracy, copying and counterfeit.