Lecturers’ Perception of Intellectual Property Rights in Universities in Rivers State

Abstract

This study investigated lecturers’ perception of intellectual property rights in universities in Rivers State. The research design for the work was descriptive survey. The population of the study was 2,551 lecturers in the three universities in the state. The sample used for this study was 346 university lecturers which represents 13.6% of the population arrived at using the Taro Yamen formula. Data was collected by formulating and administering structured questionnaire titled ‘Lecturers perception of Intellectual Property Right Questionnaire’ (LPIPRQ). The instrument was dully validated and reliability yielded 0.85 using test-retest method and calculated with Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) formula. Mean scores, standard deviation and rank order statistics were applied to derive answers to the research questions and z-test was applied to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed a number of findings; that University lecturers have a high perception of intellectual property, including the rights of intellectual property. The results necessitated the recommendation that, intellectual property unit should be established and strengthened in universities to screen all intellectual write-ups before publication. Government should provide special fund to universities for the procurement of ICT facilities for the enhancement of the rights of lecturers to intellectual property.