University Students’ Awareness on Intellectual Property Rights

The study aimed to determine the level of students’ awareness regarding intellectual property rights at one state university in the Philippines. This study used the descriptive research method, employing the online instrument distributed to the 506 students from different colleges. The study used a modified adapted survey questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used such percent, mean, frequency count, and inferential data using the Kruskal Wallis H-Test. The study revealed that the respondents were aware of the aspects of copyrights, patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications. However, the respondents were neither aware nor unaware on the aspects of the utility model. Moreover, the study revealed significant difference in the level of students’ awareness when grouped according to different IP rights. Therefore, full awareness on the intellectual property rights is vital as there are implications on the protected materials, works and inventions that may lead to infringement for its improper use. Hence, to maintain the level of awareness of students regarding intellectual property rights, it is recommended that the university adopt tactics and resources for wide dissemination, such as an intellectual property rights manual, to enhance the knowledge of its students