Factors affecting effective utilization of intellectual property rights by SMEs in Tanzania: a case Study of Dar es Salaam

The main objective of this study was to examine factors affecting effective utilization of intellectual property rights by SMEs in Tanzania. To get an insight on keys factors, the study was guided by three specific objectives, were to assess extent to which SMEs awareness, relevant of IP system and perceived cost and complexity affect effective use of IP.The study involved questionnaires and interview in data collection. Both qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 12.0, where cross tabulation and frequency tables were drawn to show the relationship between variables under the study. The study revealed that many SMEs (57.2%) were unaware on potentials they could exploit from using Intellectual Property Rights (IP). Moreover findings from the study revealed that many (94.9%) respondents did not take any legal action to either protect or commercialize their IP.From the findings, it is recommended to the government to introduce National Intellectual property policy, include IP in education curricular, establish various training programs, institute media coverage of IP issues, improve accessibility of national and international IP systems in terms of cost and ease of use and bridging the gap between academician and research institutions as well as between business and financial resources. Further research is also needed in this area of IP and SMEs.