A to Z of African official IP websites no.29: Madagascar

Ever-restless as he roams the vast continent of Africa in search of official intellectual property websites, Afro-IP's e-emissary Kingsley Egbuonu indulges in a little off-shoring this week as he travels across the water to Madagascar on the 29th stop in his A to Z tour. This is what he found there:

Overview

Madagascar is a Contracting Party to a number of treaties on intellectual property (IP) including the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

Copyright Office

• The Malagasy Copyright Office (Ministry of Information, Culture and Communication) is the competent office responsible for copyright and related rights in Madagascar.

• The website for this office is the Ministry’s www.omda.mg and it is in French.

Industrial Property Office

• The Malagasy Industrial Property Office (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) is the competent office responsible for the administration of intellectual property rights in Madagascar.

• The website for this office is www.omapi.mg and it is also in French.

Social Media Presence

None

Intellectual Property Update in Madagascar

No recent update found.

Conclusion

Madagascar seems to have effectively utilised the opportunities and assistance on offer -- especially from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) -- to advance IP as a tool to its development. One of the ways in which it can demonstrate this is through its useful and updated website. 

This is a wake-up call -- if not a challenge – for the larger and wealthier countries in the continent.

Kingsley tweets as @IPinAfrica