CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of the Study
Since
the beginning of 20th century, the world has witnessed astronomical
advancement in scientific and technological innovation which has changed the
face of modern society. Innovation has become the key driver of economic growth
and development in both medium term and long term. Kubis (2011:36) defines
innovation as the process of introducing new products, and services, and
production process into the marketplace and creating new profitable enterprises
and higher paying jobs on this basis. The popular documentary on "CNN” of
Make, Create and Innovate is one of the indications of the importance of
innovation in today’s world.
Even the most read book in the world; the holy
Bible establishes it in King James Translation of Revelation, 21: 5; “Behold,
I make all things new”. Innovation is thus about having new ways of
doing things which usually will emanate from ideas generated by individuals and
groups of individuals in their various works of life and even in their everyday
life. When these ideas are put into use or into tangible items for use in
creation of wealth and other economic value, they become Properties of
Intellect.They are thus called Intellectual Property (IP).
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The
term Intellectual Property came to lime light in the 19th century.
By late 20th century, it became a common place in US literature. Nevertheless,
Grant(2010: 17) notes that the usage of the term goes back as far as 1893, at
the founding of Swiss federal office for intellectual property. The Paris
convention for protection of industrial property (1883) and Berne convention
for protecting of library and artistic work (1886) both were separate
administrative offices that merged in 1893 and adopted the term intellectual
property in their new title (Ige, 2000). Prior to that adoption, towards the
end of the 19th century, inventive new ways of manufacturing helped
trigger large scale industrialization accompanied by such phenomena as rapid
city growth, expansion of railway network, investments of capital and growing
trade transaction. Idris (2012) states
that the invention of movable typing and printing press by Johamas Gutenberg
around 1440 contributed to the birth of the first copyright system in the
world. Sople,
(2010) explains that Trademarks are
believed to date back to at least 3500 years when potters’ marks were used to
identify the source of earthen pots. However, jurisdiction and statutes for the
protection of trademarks appear to date back to only 350 years, i.e.
seventeenth century in England.
Right
from the medieval to several years over, intellectual property started
developing. In Roman times, it was common for pottery to be embossed or
impressed with a mark, for example a representation of a dolphin or the maker’s
initial. Merchant’s marks were used in commerce in Britain from the thirteenth
century. William Caxton used the mark W74C, in his Gold and Silver articles and
these were hallmark as early as the fourteenth century. By the end of the
sixteenth century it was very common for shopkeepers to erect signs
illustrating their trade (Nwokocha, 2012:46). Traders took to using cards
bearing their name and address, often accompanied by a device of some sort, an
early form of what we have today as business card. The industrial revolution
saw an enormous growth in the use of names and marks in advertising and thus
modern trade mark was born. This marked the early development of the modern
Trademark Law.
In
the area of patent, the first recorded patent for an industrial invention was
granted in 1421 in Firenze, Italy to Architect and Engineer Filippo Brunelleschi.
The claim was that he had thought of a better method for transporting goods on
the River Aron. He undertook with the Florentine authorities that to divulge
details of his new invention he would be granted a monopoly in respect of the
exploitation of the invention within Firenze for a number of years (Nwokocha, 2012:
46). After this, any person would be free to exploit the invention or introduce
further improvements to the technology.
Copyright
awareness on the other hand, arose with the growth of the printing press, and
the need for the authors and publishers of popular works to profit for their
task. In 1709 the UK Parliament enacted the world’s first Copyright Act, the
so-called Statue of Anne. This Act established principles of copyright law
which remain valid today and have developed to the current Copyright laws
existing in most countries(http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/ assessed
on 23rd January, 2014).
Subsequently,
the United National Bureau for protection of intellectual property relocated to
Geneva in 1960 and in 1967 the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
was established by a treaty as an agency of the United Nations. The establishment of WIPO naturally led to
sensitization, awareness and growing interest in intellectual property
protection. Companies started investing in research and development. The
evolution reveals the emergence of 3 basic trends in intellectual property;
Research, Development, and Innovation over the decades that follow. Idris (2012: 19) identifies these trends as
follows:
·
Protection has
been strengthened, broadened and harmonized internationally especially in the
1980’s
The number of applicants and grants has risen exponentially between 1980’s and 2001 as compared to the previous period especially in United States and United Kingdom. Basically two technical fields contributed to these surge, Information and communication technology, (ICT) and Biotechnology.
·
Innovation has
also expanded rapidly. An important indicator is the increase in research and
development spending,
Today,
intellectual property is a value concept. It forces us to acknowledge value
conflicts in public policies of various governments and firm’s and also
conflicts of value in inventions, creations and innovations.For many firms in
this modern economy, intellectual property is their most important asset not
physical property. Companies engage in acquisition of intellectual property due
to various reasons. Such reasons as the expected benefit that is accruable to
it. Some of these benefits they believe will have a positive effect on the
performance of the company and the various indices of performance. This includes the productivity of the firm,
profitability, sustainability, and long term viability of the organization. Marrand
Neely(2003) argue that a firm’s value is often partly based on the intangible
intellectual capital which is referred to as intellectual property that it possesses.
Therefore, most company’s stake holders and operators of industry would
naturally and intuitively expect the efficiency of IP utilization to have a
direct influence on the performance of firms, thereby constituting an issue of
practical interest to managers, stakeholders and shareholders. This also makes
it an important area for research. However, the question is, does it actually
happen that way? A lot has to be investigated for one to know this. Many
writers agree that it does while others disagree. Again for others, there is no compelling
evidence that it does. This has posed few empirical investigations on the
relationship between firm performance and IP with difficulties. Zambon (2004:9),
states that no universally accepted method of measuring IP exists thereby making
quantitative testing of the relationship challenging. There are a few
quantitative studies but none of these have evidenced data especially in
developing countries.Where data is available, for example in Australia, most
studies rarely use it which is surprising as IP reporting disclosure in
Australia and most developed part of the world is well described. In Nigeria
for example, a lot has been written about IP but few are empirical and the
writers not only concentrate on the capital cities of Lagos and Abuja, but also
concentrate on the problems of acquisition and enforcement. Other areas like
the challenges encountered while operation is going on, the effect it has on
performance and the management and control of these rights are rarely seen as
an area of interest. However, some go further to check whether IP interacts
with the tangible assets to affect firm performance. Accordingly the purpose of
this study is to quantitatively examinethe effect IP has on firm’s performance.
If
IP is linked to firm performance, firms and investors would benefit from this
disclosure. It is probable that the expected future economic benefit will flow
to the entity and the cost of the asset can be measured reliably. These
requirements are consistent with international standards, yet the criteria are
rarely met by IP and so IP is hardly ever disclosed quantitatively in the
accounts
Just
like the physical properties, intellectual properties also need to be
protected. Countries usually establish a system whereby these properties are
managed in order to not only benefit those that generated the ideas leading to
the establishment of these properties, but also to be used as an economic tool.Northern
Italy is said to be the cradle of intellectual property system. In recent time
however, more emphasis is being placed on such properties rather than physical
properties. It is necessary to note here that even though the term is
increasingly used today, it is still little understood. For too many people, it
is still an obscured legal concept of little relevance to everyday life. In
most developed countries, intellectual property is a novel concept especially
for manufacturing companies and public research institutes.Yet when these
properties are introduced, they need to be established, protected and generally
managed by the inventors, owners and other stake holders like managers and
operators of industries. Secondly, the process of protection of these new
products cannot again be effectively established without a well-balanced,
affordable and reliable system of management thus the management of Intellectual
Property. Thirdly, most writers’believe that if IP is linked to firm
performance, firms and investors would benefit from this concept. It is also
probable that the expected future economic benefit will flow to the entity and
the cost of the asset can be reliably measured.
The
human capacity for intelligence, creativity, and collaboration produces an
abundance of new information, inventions, and artistic creations. As long as
these fruits of the mind are afforded legal protection, they constitute
intellectual property(Kamil, 2000). In his own contribution, Kubis
(2011:9), states that IP is known in the industrial
world as the most valued asset owned by a company because it is generally
believed that an investment in knowledge always pays. He goes further to say
that as Ben Franklin quoted, “if a man
empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him” Current development in the global economy have brought the best
interest about the ascendency of intellectual property. The brick and mortar
economy is being replaced with economy of ideas. In the new global economy,
wealth is generated towards harnessing the value of knowledge. The concept of
creative enterprise has evolved from ideas, innovations, inventions and
knowledge and investors and company/firms are increasingly investing on
that. Innovators thus seek property
rights that allow them to own their creativity and innovations in the same way
that they can own physical property.
Intellectual
property is seen as a key concern in the quest for growth, development
andcompetitiveness. Advancement in knowledge broadly conceived is a key driver
of economicprosperity in the twenty-first century. The ongoing revolution in
information and communicationtechnologies (ICT) has dramatically reduced the
costs of creating, processing and transmittingknowledge, both nationwide and
across borders. The pace of innovation has acceleratedsignificantly. These
developments lead to closer international economic integration and morerapid innovation
which create new challenges for IP regimes and policymaking.At the same time,
both the innovation processes itself, and the production activities of firms
are globalizing rapidly. To be competitive in the globalized economy, the
United Nations member states (UN) have tomaintain, adapt and create
institutional and legal frameworks conducive to the creation ofknowledge and
its commercialization (Adewopo, 2000).Certain rights are thus allowed to these
properties which are used to control the usage.
Intellectual
property rights have a key role to play in thisregard.This raises challenges in
terms of managing, protecting and enforcingintellectual property rights across
borders. Belle, (2006) observes thatcountries with economies in transition face
additional challenges to the challenges experienced by developed countries.
They struggle to integrate into theincreasingly global production networks and
to find their own niche in the increasingly globalvalue chains. To be
successful, they need to assign high priority to developing their owninnovative
capacities, as well as their ability to absorb and adapt technological
innovations fromabroad, and to move up the value chain over time. Again, Intellectual
property regimes have a key role to play in this regard.Like other property,
intellectual property may be commercially exploited.
There
are laws on intellectual properties but most people do not know about the
existence of such laws while those that know about it do not know how to
enforce it when violated due to ignorance or so many other factors militating
against it.This situation is applicable mainly to developing countries in which
Nigeria is one. Large organizations, industries and manufacturing firms are increasingly
seeking intellectual property through investments and research and development.
Again, this is applicable mainly to developed countries. In the third world
countries, most manufacturing firms do not even have a research and
development, (R&D), department. Huge amount of money is spent on research
and development and these investments are meant for breakthroughs such that
protection against competitors and intruders becomes necessary. In the advanced
world, companies invest billions annually in research and development also to
differentiate themselves from their competitors and ultimately to offer
superior products in terms of quality, cost and future superiority. The result
of such efforts however include both tangible and intangible asset such as
intellectual property. Intellectual property is thus a significant contributor
to a firm’s value. Gassman, Zeigler,
Ruther, and Bader(2012:18), believe that intangible asset can account for more
than 70% of a firm’s value. It is therefore a considerable valuable asset for
most companies but managers often do not fully appreciate and extract value
from those assets. The problem then lies on how to manage and/or implement a
plan to successfully turn this substantial market value into cash to meet
needs. Secondly, how does one
significantly extract value from it so that it will contribute to a firm’s
sustainability, efficiency, and general performance? It is therefore obvious
that management of any organization cannot be effectively and efficiently done
without protection of these properties.
To protect them, intellectual property rights are obtained as tools to
use. These rights also act as incentives to invent or innovate, enhancement of
technology innovation andas tools for ensuring equitable and fair utilization
of genetic resources (Gassman et al.,2012: 23).
The
first industrial property protection in Nigeria was in respect of Trademarks.
This was with regards to the trade mark proclamation in1900 by which the UK
Trade Mark Act wasmade applicable to the then Protectorate of Southern Nigeria.
This wasextended to the entire country following the amalgamation of the
Southernand Northern Protectorates in 1914 (Wakhungu. Nyukuri, and Sikoyo, 2009:47)
In
respect of patents, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
patentsregistered in the UK were in Nigeria.The colonial masters first
introduced the patent system in the former colonyof Lagos and Southern Nigeria
in 1900 by the Patents Ordinance No. 17 of1900 and the Patents Proclamation
Ordinance No. 27 of 1900 respectively.The Patents Proclamation Ordinance No. 12
of 1902 introduced similarlegislation in Northern Nigeria. The respective
instruments provided for afull-fledged patent office headed by aRegistrar as was
provided in the patent acts. However, in Okafor(2012), it is believed thatthe
introduction of patent administrative institution was nevermeant to encourage
either indigenous inventive activity, local research and development, innovation
or to accomplish an effective transfer oftechnology but instead it was geared
towards the protection of propertyrights in machinery technology relevant for
the exploitation of gold andother mineral and human resources in the colonies
thereby enriching their own country.
Following
the amalgamation of Southern and Northern Nigeria in 1914, separate legislation
for the different regions were repealed andsubstituted by the Patents Ordinance
No. 30 of 1916The new law only provided for the registration in Nigeria
ofpatents already granted in the UK, an anomaly that persisted even long
afterNigeria became independent in 1960. Effectively, Nigerians or
otherapplicants had first to apply to the UK patent office to be granted a
patentfor an invention before proceeding to Nigeria to have it registered. It
alsomeant that it was the UK law that substantively applied to
patentapplications and grant in Nigeria up till 1970 (Wutungu, et, al. 2009).In
1970, the Patents and Designs Act No. 60 was enacted.
The
Act was modeled on the draft law prepared in 1965 bythe United International
Bureau for the Protection of Intellectual Property(BPIP), the precursor of the
World Intellectual Property Organization,(WIPO). Beyond just nationalizing the patent
application and grant process,there appeared to be no policy rationale or
consideration as such behindadopting the model given that there was no national
policy with regard to itsindustrial and technological development (WIPO, 2002)
However, despite the fact that thecountry had since articulated its industrial
and technological developmentpolicy and plan, these have not yet been reflected
in the international propertylaws as the 1970Act is still in force.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
Intellectual
Property is an important variable in the economic development of any nation. Its
importance in invention, innovation, and creation cannot be overemphasized.
Again, the importance of these later concepts in achieving economic growth
calls for attention. On the other hand, economic growth cannot be achieved
without developing the manufacturing sector.In fact, it is the manufacturing
sector that drives the economy of most nations. These firms thus need to
perform well in order that the purpose for which they are established will be
achieved. In order to achieve this, they must be able to meet with
technological changes, thus, the manufacturing companies’ need to be making,
creating and inventing products and processes. The creations and inventions
having been generated from ideas from human capital is therefore protected
using various tools. IP serves as a tool to develop various aspects and various
sectors of the economy including Manufacturing Sector, Industrial Sector, Economic
Sector, Education Sector and general development of the nation. This has placed
it in the fore front of the priorities of economic policies by various governments
of various nations especially in the developed economy. However, in Nigeria,
the story is different. This is because the country does not seem to recognize
the degree of the importance of this concept judging from the attention they
ascribe to it. Often times, they relegate it to the background while in the formation
and implementation of government policies. Zambon (2004) indicates this in his
observation that there are a few quantitative studies of intellectual property
in the developing countries because the nature of the relationship between IP
and firm performance is a virgin territory. Again, Shakina and Barajas (2000)
believe that the phenomenon of intellectual property is growing in importance
and the relevance is increasing but some countries are not responding to the
sensitization especially developing countries. Furthermore, Nnabuike (2000) in
his study believes that the effect ofIP management on research and development
department of manufacturing companies attracts benefits but this is not the
case with most African countries due to their negative attitude towards the
development of R&D offices in their firms.The above situation could however
be attributed to a number of factors militating against the nation.Such factors
could be found in the following brief text;
Nigeria
is still classified as a developing country. In the developed economy,
intellectual property is used as a tool for advancing technology innovation but
this may not necessarily work in the same way as developing or under developed
countries. This is because most developing countries have very low bargaining
power and weak technology capabilities. Also factors like corruption,
counterfeiting, poverty level and several other facilities that will support
the operative system and process of the term militates against its’
potentials. Secondly, only about one
half of corporate leaders in the developing countries understands the values
and importance of intellectual properties management and is actively involved
in the strategic planning relating to intellectual properties. This limited
integration of intellectual property management and strategic planning reflects
a number of obstacles.This was observed in a recent survey of executives who
manage intellectual property portfolios where respondents indicate these
obstacles.
Thirdly,
in most developing countries including Nigeria, Intellectual Property has been
mismanaged, undervalued, and generally thought of as a concept for the first
world countries. This has been an impediment on creations, innovations and
inventions. On the other hand, creation, innovation and invention would
naturally positively affect an industry’s performance but due to the lack of
attention paid to IP in our industries, we often lose the opportunity it
provides. People usually look at the challenges which is the difficult task
associated with the acquisition and usage of these rights. Most often, they do
not look at the benefits accruable to it.
Fourthly,
intellectual property management is usually delegated mainly to the hands of
legalpersonnel who know little or nothing about strategic management. This is
because there is a common view that intellectual property portfolios bears few
strategic consequences and therefore does not need managers. Of course this is
a wrong perception.
One
reason that the cost of doing business in Africa is high is that firms often
are required to make additional unofficial payments to ensure a steady supply
of public services. This report focuses
on the performance of firms in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector drawing on the
United Nation International Development Organisation (UNIDO) firm survey
carried out in 2001. The objective of that study was to identify the policy
issues that needed to be tackled to reverse decades of poor performance in the
economy of developing nations of the world. The incidence of additional
payments with regard to public services and licenses and permits actually
decreases with firm size.
Another
primary problem which has been observed here is the lack of the information
necessary to apply the analytic especially with respect to the incentive theory
of intellectual property. To what extent is the production of specific
sorts of intellectual products dependent upon maintenance of intellectual property
protection? With respect to some fields, some commentators have agreed
that it does to a very little extent. Others also note that other monetary or
non-monetary rewards such as profits attributable to lead time, inventors,
opportunities to speculate in markets that will be affected by the revelation
of their inventions, the prestige enjoyed by artistic and scientific
innovators, academic tenure, and the love of art would be sufficient to sustain
current levels of production even in the absence of intellectual-property
protection. A third group of commentators sharply disagree. The truth is that
we do not have enough information to know who is right. Empirical work
however hassuggested that patent rights has been more important in stimulating
innovation in certain industries (e.g., pharmaceuticals and chemicals) than in
others, but has failed to answer the ultimate question of whether the stimulus
to innovation is worth its costs. With respect to forms of
intellectual-property protection other than patents, we know even less. Again, those
values could be promoted equally well by providing persons rights to land or
shares in private corporations. Consequently, properties may be
classified private when followed strictly but the problem still remains that there
will be little help in determining which resources to privatize and which to
leave to the public. To the extent that intellectual-property rights have
economic value and may be bought and sold, gained and lost, may contribute to
their owners' abilities to avoid guilt, become autonomous, engage in independent
political action, etc., is a huge reason for IP to be managed and protected.
Unfortunately, this is not being given the attention it deserves in our country
thus leading to huge loss in benefits accruable to it.
A
practical guideline on intellectual property issues especially for
manufacturing companies, other organizations and institutions would in the
opinion of the researcher enrich the understanding of manufacturing industries,
scholars, and other stakeholders who are working in the field. It will also go a
long way in improving our economic activities and creating wealth both for the
innovators, manufacturing companies and the country in general. It will again
encourage more innovative activities and encourage the manufacturing firms to
perform better. Failure to do so will on the other hand result to further
deterioration of the above factors and cause more negative attitude towards creation,
innovation and invention which will again lead to negative effect on
manufacturing companies thereby affecting the nation negatively. Consequent
upon this, the study on the effect of intellectual property management and
performance of selected manufacturing firms is being undertaken.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The
general objective of the study seeks to explore the level of understanding of
the concept IP in Nigeria especially in the South East Nigeria and toarouse the
attention on intellectual property management and its characteristics in the business
field and especially in manufacturing companies. Most importantly, the study
seeks to look into the activities of manufacturing firms as it pertains to
management and control of their intangible assets known as intellectual
properties and the way it affects the performance of these firms.The following specific
objectives are therefore formulated to help unravel some of the pertinent
questions;
1.
To determine the
extent to which protection of intellectual property through trade mark affects
the market share in manufacturing firms in the south east Nigeria.
2.
To ascertain the
degree to which patents induce creativity in manufacturing firms in the same
zone.
3.
To establish the
level to which intellectual property protection fulfills its mission in
manufacturing firms.
4.
To analyze the
various risks involved in intellectual property registration to see if they are
higher than expected benefits.
5.
To find out the
extent to which corporate managers are involved in the management of
intellectual property portfolio in their firms and the implications of their
involvement especially in the south east Nigeria.
1.4
Research Questions
Based on the objectives of
the study the following research questions are formulated to guide the conduct
of the study:
- To what extent does protection of intellectual property through trade mark affect market share in manufacturing firms in the south east Nigeria?
- To what degree do patents induce creativity in manufacturing firms in the same zone?
- To what level does intellectual property protection fulfill its mission in manufacturing firms in south east Nigeria?
- To what extent are the expected benefits of intellectual property registration higher than the risks involved especially in the south east Nigeria?
- To what extent do corporate managers get involved in the management of intellectual property portfolios and what are the implications?
1.5 Research
Hypotheses
The
hypotheses of any research work are a tentative conclusive statement which when
treated leads to the findings of a research work. They are usually stated in
form of alternate and null hypotheses. However, Krathwohl (1977) in Polit, and
Hungler,(1978:631) points out that, the use of null hypotheses creates an
amateurish impression. Polit, et al (1978:637), also observe that null hypotheses
are related to statistical logic not to research objectives. It is therefore
more desirable to state the researcher’s actual expectations while the null
hypotheses are assumed without being explicitly stated. Accordingly, the
following research hypotheses are stated to use in proffering solutions to the
problem under investigation.
1.
Protection of
intellectual property through trade mark positively affects the market share to
a very high extent in manufacturing firms.
2.
Patent rights
induce creativity in manufacturing firms to a very high degree.
3.
Intellectual
property protection significantly fulfills its mission in manufacturing firms.
4.
The expected
benefits of intellectual property registration are higher than the risks
involved to a very high degree.
5.
Corporate
managers do not often significantly get involved in the management of
intellectual property portfolios and this result to negative implications.
1.6 Significance
of the Study
This
study suggests that intellectual property offer a real but in some cases
limited incentive to innovate and thus leading to creations of products and
processes in some industries and manufacturing firms. At the end of this study,
the researcher would have developed a very comprehensive response and insight
into these manufacturing companies’ characteristics as regards its intellectual
property management and control that other researchers could use to define the
boundaries of their studies and make their work more transparent and
comparable. Also, much literature and controversy over intellectual property
has evolved in recent time but with more emphasis on the legal aspects like
policies, and enforcements. However, there is paucity of literature that
examines the status of intellectual property and its developmental and
management aspects as it affects industrial growth, productivity, performance
and competition. Finally, other studies done on intellectual property are based
mainly on copyright of books, music, works of art etc. This paper seeks to address that seemingly
neglected area in our firms.
1.7 Scope
of the study
The scope of this study includes Theoretical,
Geographical and Time scope respectively.The study deals with the conceptual
framework, theoretical framework, and empirical review of all the relevant variables
in the topic.The study is on manufacturing firms in the south east Nigeria.It
covers the period of year 2000 to year 2011. However, the origin and evolution of intellectual
property both in Nigeria and beyond is still extensively discussed both in the
introduction of the paper and the literature review.
The
other areas covered in this work are various definitions of various writers of
the concept of all the variables in the work including but not limited to
Intellectual Property, Management including management of assets in companies,
both tangible and intangible assets, Performance and even Manufacturing Companies.
Each has his own perception of the concept of these variables but basically,
they all point to the same thing; intellectual property as intangible asset,
acquisition anduse of intellectual property, intellectual property and
performance of firms, methods of
acquisition and application, IP policies in different countries and effects of intellectual property on different
company’s productivity, and profitability. Furthermore discussion on the
different types of intellectual property rights (IPR) and their functions for
example, Trademark, Trade secret, Patent, Copyright, Traditional Knowledge and
Geographical Indication was explored. Theories of intellectual property and
performance were also delved into. The work again ventured into other areas
like IP valuation, IP theft, decision to innovate and reasons why IP holder
should protect his property. Other areas of coverage are various works of other
authors on the relationship between IP and performance in manufacturing firms
and some other related topics. These areas were also extensively grappled with
and their opinions, views, conclusions and findings noted. The study then
ventured into the different types of Intellectual Property rights, the rate of
acquisition of intellectual property rights in Africa as compared with other
parts of the world and finally the institutions that drive the process.
1.8 Limitations
of the Study
This
research has looked at aspects of intellectual property management and control
in manufacturing industries in the south east Nigeria. In the process, it has
looked at areas that researchers have explicitly mentioned in their definitions. These writers seem to be with recognized
knowledge and experience in the field of intellectual property. However, the
understanding of this problem is limited by several relative weaknesses in the
available literature. For example, unlike other forms of property like the
physical properties, IP is difficult to identify, allocate and control. This affects one’s understanding of the
magnitude of the problems associated with it thus creating some limitations.
Secondly, the researcher has only looked at
explicit definitions of intellectual property but cannot claim to have
developed the complete list of benefits, risks, and roles that an intellectual
property management comprises.
Thirdly,
the study focused on the south east Nigeria and therefore not fully
generalized. More revelation could come
up if the geographical coverage is widened.
Finally, by only considering the definitions
and conclusions created by authors, rather than the meaning of their work as it
relates to the real world as a whole, much of the nuances provided by each
paper are missed. A more holistic approach, albeit necessarily more subjective,
may provide greater insights. Further research on this area could improve the
robustness of the result we anticipate in this study.
1.9 Profile
of Selected Organizations
The manufacturers association
of Nigeria, MAN is grouped into ten, (10) sectorial group with many subsectors.
The sectors are;
- Food, Beverages and Tobacco
- Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals
- Domestic and Industrial Plastic, Rubber, and Foam
- Basic Metal, Iron and Steel and Fabricated Metal Products
- Pulp, Paper and Paper Products, Printing, Publishing and Packaging
- Electricals and Electronics
- Textile, Wearing Apparels, Carpet, Leather/ Leather Footwear
- Wood and Wood Products including Furniture
- Non-Metallic Mineral Product
- Motor Vehicle and Miscellaneous Assembly
The research was carried out
in some selected manufacturing firms in the South East Nigeria. The south east
Nigeria is made up of five (5) states. The states are Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi,
Enugu and Imo states. A purposeful technique was employed in selecting
companies for inclusion in this research with each statebeing represented. Secondly,
the seven firms were selected from different sectors thereby covering a wide
range of the sectors. These firms are;
- Jacobs Wine Umuahia Abia, representing Food Beverage and Tobacco Group.
- General Cotton Mill Onitsha Anambra, which represents textile Wearing Apparels, Carpet, Leather/Leather Foot Wear Group.
- Ofali Rural Industries Limited Ebonyi, representing Non Metallic Mineral Products Group.
- Hardis and Dromedas Limited Emene Enugu, representing Chemicals and Pharmaceutical Group
- Pittason Industries Nigeria Limited Imo representing Domestic and Industrial Plastic and Rubber Sectoral Group.
- Alo Aluminium Manufacturing Company Limited representing Basic Metal, Iron and Steel and Fabricated Metal Products
- NgoBros Company Nigeria Limited representing Pulp, Paper and Paper Products, Printing, Publishing and Packaging
1.9.1 Profile of Jacobs Wine Nigeria Limited
The company was established in year 2000 and
it is located at Frank Jacobs Avenue, Umuahia Abia State. The products the firm
manufactures are wines, Spirit, Starch, and Juice which belong to the sectorial
group of Food, Beverages and Tobacco while the sub sector is distillery and
blending of spirit. Umuahia is the state
capital of Abia state and this makes for easy disposal of their products after
manufacturing. This is because being a state capital, so many activities in
form of Social, Business and Religious activities which attract the usage of
the products offer the company the opportunity of having high sales turnover. Their
email address is Click
Here to see it
1.9.2 Profile of General Cotton Mill, (GCM) Onitsha
GCM as it is branded was
established in th eyear 1987, by Chairman/ Founder Sir Daniel Chukwudozie and
incorporated in 1989. It is located at Habour industrial layout Onitsha Anambra
state. They are into the production of textiles especially wrappers. The
subsectorial group is textile, Wearing Apparels, Carpet, and Leather/Leather
Foot Wears. They have distribution offices located in different parts of the
country. Part of the prosperity of the industry is that it has a location
advantage of being in one of the biggest commercial cities of the south east
Nigeria. Secondly, their major product is textile wrapper which attracts the
attention of any Igbo woman in the high, middle, and/or low class.
1.9.3 Profile of Ofali Rural Industries Limited
Ofali Rural Industries is
located at Mgbo village in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. It was established in year 2008 and has been
in operation from that time till date. However, it got incorporated and
registration with MAN in the year 2003 and 2011 respectively. The
founder/Chairman is Dr., Victor Ndu. With the topography of Abakiliki city, the
industry location is a huge advantage. Their products are Granites aggregate
and quarrying and they belong to the non-metallic mineral products sectoral
group. Their email address is Click
Here to see it
1.9.4 Profile of Hardis and Dromedas Limited
The company is located in
Emene Enugu at km 11 airport road. It
was established in 1986, incorporated in 1993 and registered with MAN in 1994.
Their main products are mainly hygiene products like Germicides, Cosmetics,
Soap, and Plastics and these put them in the sectorial group of chemicals and
pharmaceuticals. Hardis and dromedas is one of the first indigenous
manufacturing firms to be reputed with quality and reliability in the Nigerian
market. The chairman/founder is Dr. Chike Obidigbo. Their email address is Click
Here to see it
1.9.5 Profile of Pitason Industries Nigeria
Limited
Pitason industry limited is located at 14 Old
Express Rd/km. 6 in the old Aba Owerri road in Umungasi, Aba. The industry was established in the year 1991
and incorporated in 1994. They are into the production of Shoe Soles, Recycled
PVCs and Handbags and are grouped into thesub sector of Domestic and Industrial
Plastics. Aba, being one of the big commercial centers in the south east
Nigeria, is a very good place for citing any industry. Their email address is Click
Here to see it
1.9.6
Profile of Alo Aluminium
Manufacturing Company Limited
Alo
Aluminium Manufacturing Company Limited belongs to the
sectoral group of Basic Metal, Iron and Steel and Fabricated Metal Products. The
industry is into the production of Long Span Roofing Sheets, Accessories, and
Installations. In this recent time when construction is booming in the country
especially in the south east and south south, the industry is experiencing a
lot of challenges with other firms fervently competing by placing their
products side by side with that of Alo. The industry issituating at Km 16Enugu
Abakiliki express way opposite Mobil Filling Station. Its corporate office is
also domiciled in the same location. Founded by Chief Sir Alexander Ani,the
industry was established in 1994, was incorporated in 1991 and registered with
the manufacturers association of Nigeria in year 1994with Registration/Corporation
Number, RC of 162656 and Brand name Alo. The company’s email address is Click
Here to see it
1.9.7
Profile ofNgoBros Company
Nigeria Limited
NgoBrosand
Company Nigeria Limited is an industry that deals with the production of Baby
Diapers. It was founded by Chief Sir Humphery Ngonadi who is currently the
Chairman/Managing Director of the company. The factory is situating at Nnewi
Anambra State precisely at 71-78 Obadiah Road Nnewi. It belongs to the sectoral
group of Pulp, Paper and Paper Products; Printing, Publishing and Packaging. It uses two brand names, Diap and Bigoz with RC
number 72770. Established and
Incorporated in 2000 and 2001 respectively, the company registered with the
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria in 2003. Being one of the first companies
to go into the manufacturing of baby diapers in the south east Nigeria, it has
a lot of challenges though enjoying some degree of monopoly. Its email address
is… Click
Here to see it
Sources:
Personnel Department of the Firms under Study.
·
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Directorate Enugu
Branch, 2013 Pages 9-16
·
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Directorate Imo
and Abia Branch, 2014 Pages 10-12
·
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Economic Review,
January to June 2013
1.10 Operational
Definition of Terms
This
definition section defines key terminology utilized in this work, including but
not limited to the following terms:
Appropriability: This refers to the ability or the possibility to
capture returns from Research and Development (R&D) Investments. Simply
put, it is a company’s ability to control and apportion profits accruable from
its innovation, creation and investments.
The methods used for this control are the use of Intellectual Property
Rights.
Background Technical Data: This means information, in hard copy or in electronic
form, including, without limitation, documents, drawings, models, designs, data
memoranda, tapes, records, and databases developed
Defensive Publishing: Defensive Publishing denotes publication of an
invention with the purpose of creating prior arts and therefore preventing
patents being granted on the same invention. One of the fundamental
pre-condition for appropriation from own use of an invention is giving freedom
to operate and one way to do that is to make the invention public. This is called
defensive mechanism.
Digital Rights Management, (DRM): This is the Intellectual Property Rights that are
usually obtained and used for the management of Information Technology, (IT).
However, crackers still succeed in disintegrating them.
Intellectual Property: An intangible asset that can be owned by an
individual, a group of individual, a family, a community or in this case an
organization. Intellectual Propertyalso means technical information, inventions,
developments, discoveries, know-how, methods, techniques, formulas, algorithms,
data, processes and other proprietary ideas (whether or not patentable or
copyrightable). Intellectual Property
also gets protection by using patent applications, patents, copyrights,
trademarks, mask works, trade secrets, and any other legally protectable
information, including computer software protection.
Tangible Research Property, (TRP) means those tangible items produced in the course of
system research that can be physically distributed including such items as
Biological Materials, Engineering Drawings, Equipment Integrated Circuit Chips,
and Computer Data Base.
Nano - Technology: This is a technology that is used to develop
applications in diverse areas like the Economy, Health, Environment, Education
etc. Nano Technology Companies are companies that use this technology
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