IP/C/W/584  
 
22 February 2013  
(13-0958)  Page: 1/12  
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: French  
 
 PRIORITY NEEDS FOR TECHNICA L AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION 
COMMUNICATION FROM MADAGASCAR 
INTRODUCTION 
In its decision of 29 November 2005 extending the transition period for least developed 
countries (LDCs) to implement the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property 
Rights (TRIPS Agreement), the WTO TRIPS Council also invited LDC Members to provide as much information as possible on their individual priority needs for technical and financial cooperation in order to assist them in taking steps necessary for implementing the TRIPS Agreement. 
 
Madagascar is fully aware of its international obligations, of the need to implement the TRIPS Agreement, and of the fact that intellectu a l  p r o p e r t y  r i g h t s  ( I P R s )  s h o u l d  b e  u s e d  f o r  
development and should form an integral part of  domestic policies and programmes and of efforts 
to protect culture and encourage innovation.  
Madagascar's intellectual property system is administered by the Malagasy Industrial Property 
Office (OMAPI) in the case of industrial property , and the Malagasy Copyright Office (OMDA) in the 
case of literary and artistic works.  
The purpose of this communication and its annexes is to set out the priority needs for technical 
and financial assistance with a view to taking the necessary steps to implement the TRIPS Agreement in Madagascar. 
 
These steps are being taken in response to national technical and financial considerations. The needs assessment covers, inter alia , the country's intellectual property (IP) policy and legal 
framework, the management of efforts to combat climate change and protect the environment, 
the enforcement and regulation of IPRs, compliance with regulations governing pharmaceutical and phytosanitary products, as well as the promotion of innovation and research, technology transfer, the protection of foreign direct investment (FDI), and the use of IP for 
development purposes. 
 
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 IP/C/W/584 
 
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  ANNEX A 
PRIORITY NEEDS FOR TECHNICAL AND FI NANCIAL COOPERATION WITH A VIEW 
TO ENSURING THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEM ENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
1  STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: UPDATING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) POLICY AND LEGAL 
FRAMEWORK 
1.1  Strengthening IP policy and legal development and coordination capacity 
1.1.  Madagascar has one major advantage in the intellectual property area: it has two bodies 
responsible for the administration of intellectual property, OMAPI and OMDA. 
1.2.  However, it would appear that the legislation in force excludes many "cultural properties". 
This gap in the country's legislative texts undermines creativity and is detrimental to the competiveness and performance of the country 's economic operators, notably craftsmen 
and artists. 
1.3.  Another advantage for Madagascar is its National Cultural Policy Law for 
socio-economic development. 
1.4.  In view of the above considerations, we have decided to begin by organizing a national forum 
whose ultimate aim is to come up with reco mmendations and action plans for updating the 
Malagasy National Cultural Policy Law. 
1.5.  We are asking for technical and financial assistance in this respect. 
1.2  Support for the reform of IP legislatio n and the harmonization of sectoral policies 
with the different laws 
1.6.  The development of a national IP policy and a legislative framework for IPRs needs to be 
consistent with related policies in areas such as culture – which is considered in Madagascar to be 
a springboard for development – science and technology, health, competition, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and the environment. 
1.7.  There is a need to understand linkages and be st options for implementation in the light of the 
different levels of development and national priorities. Hence the pressing need for technical assistance, in areas where there is a priority n eed to update industrial property and copyright 
legislation, in drafting laws in which traditional knowledge and folklore need to be highlighted 
given the abundance in Madagascar of cultural products and handicrafts that could be protected and exported. 
1.3  Introduction of a system for labelling and controlling products 
1.8.  To safeguard and encourage the performances  of economic operators and the creativity of 
craftsmen, researchers, farmers, cattle breeders, and fishermen, technical and financial assistance 
is needed to introduce a system for controlling products and strengthening the efforts to 
combat counterfeiting. 
2  STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: MODERN IZATION OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE 
FOR IP ADMINISTRATION 
2.1.  The administration of intellectual property must keep pace with the different changes taking 
place internationally, including the development of technology to meet IP-user needs. This also applies to the LDCs like Madagascar when it comes to implementing the TRIPS Agreement. IP/C/W/584 
 
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  2.2.  The OMDA and the OMAPI, which are responsible for IP administration in Madagascar, are 
called upon to provide quality services to the productive and creative population and to the business world. 
2.3.  The fact is, however, that their task is complicated by their outdated infrastructure. 
2.4.  In the case of the OMAPI, a number of steps have already been taken: their human resources 
have been strengthened, domestic legislation has been overhauled in the light of the TRIPS Agreement, the archives have been reorganized, and procedures for issuing IP titles 
have been computerized. 
2.5.  However, not enough has been done: OMAPI still does not have its own building. Moreover, 
most of the materials and equipment used by the office are obsolete. 
2.6.  As regards the OMDA, the infrastructure for managing literary and artistic property could also 
do with some reorganization. 
2.7.  At the same time, to facilitate efforts to pr otect IP, a strategy for ensuring the evaluation and 
labelling of cultural products is needed. 
 Accordingly, to improve its IP administrati on Madagascar has identified the following 
priority needs: 
 a separate building for the OMAPI and upgrading of the OMDA building; 
 computer materials and equipment for the two Offices; 
 digitization of the archives of both Offices; 
 computerization of OMDA procedures for the allocation of rights; 
 open-air infrastructure for the promotion of folk dancing near cultural sites; 
 creation and equipment of a museum devoted to the traditional wood-crafting knowledge 
of the Zafimaniry community (UNESCO Cultural Heritage of Humanity), which is typically Malagasy and could contribute to the promotion of handicrafts and tourism; 
 institutional capacity building (materials, training, etc.). 
3  STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: USING IP FO R DEVELOPMENT, PROMOTING INNOVATION, 
RESEARCH, CREATIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 
3.1.  Although information and awareness raising together with the promotion of the results of 
research in the IP area are basic tools for the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, the efforts made thus far have not yielded any convincing results. 
3.2.  Information and awareness raising via radio,  television and the press only reaches a small 
portion of the target population. It might be useful to contact the relevant groups or associations 
of operators directly, to draw up an appropriat e timetable and to specify the topic of a given 
workshop or training session. Thought also needs to be given to possible actions at the 
decentralized community level. 
3.3.  Progress has been made with respect to  research, technology and innovation, with the 
introduction of research centres. However, signif icant efforts are needed, and the existing research 
centres need to work in synergy with each other to develop training for operators. The objective 
would be to truly guarantee creativity and technology transfer. 
3.4.  Moreover, in most cases there is a technology deficit at the regional level. A considerable 
effort needs to be made to develop appropriate technologies adapted to local specificities, 
capacities and conditions. That effort must first and foremost target the critical sectors of the local IP/C/W/584 
 
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  economy, in particular agricultural and food production, local production processes, and the 
conservation and improvement of resources such as water, forests and energy. 
3.5.  For the handicrafts sector, a better understanding of the surrounding environment (institution 
to contact, financial partner, donor supplying raw materials, media, etc.) is needed to ensure that 
marketing and distribution takes place through formal channels. 
3.6.  To address all of these problems, Madagasc ar is putting forward the following actions for 
which it requests technical and financial assistance from developed countries through their 
enterprises and/or institutions: 
 organization and systematization of technological information, in particular intermediate 
technology (village technology, labour-intensive technology in public works and construction, agricultural machinery adapted to local conditions, intermediate industrial 
technology); 
 strengthening and optimization of technological development assistance structures and 
mechanisms; 
 identification of the key technologies requiring priority (energy, climate change, etc.) 
and organization of groups tasked with acquiring command of these technologies; 
 human and material capacity building; 
 support for the Chambers of Commerce and I n d u s t r y  i n  t h e  I P  a r e a  i n  o r d e r  t o  
encourage them to promote innovation and cr eativity and speed up the registration of 
patents with the OMAPI; 
 information and awareness raising for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in 
the IP area; 
 capacity building for craftsmen; 
 operational capacity building for administrative officials. 
4  STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: STRENGTHENING THE IP ENFORCEMENT AND 
REGULATION REGIME 
4.1  Lack of awareness among the populati on, particularly consumers and operators 
such as PMEs, PMIs and cooperatives, of their IP rights. 
4.1.  In Madagascar, consumers and operators such as SMEs, SMIs and cooperatives tend to be 
misinformed or unaware of the existence of IP rights, and do not know that they have such rights. 
4.2.  The population therefore needs to be info rmed, educated and made aware of the importance 
of IPs so that they can protect their inventions and so that they all know what to do when 
problems arise. 
4.3.  This requires the periodic organization of IP forums and economic events (workshops, 
seminars, exchanges of experience, round tables) down to the grassroots level in order to reach 
out directly to the population and inform as many people as possible. 
4.2  Lack of synergy among the different in tellectual property agen cies responsible for 
enforcement of IPRs and within the administration (police, justice, customs) 
4.4.  Since joining the WTO, Madagascar has be come aware of a lack of synergy between the 
different IP bodies (public and private) responsible for IPR enforcement owing to the fact that there is no coordinating structure to bring all the stakeholders together. IP/C/W/584 
 
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  4.5.  It is therefore essential that a first forum be  organized to set up this coordinating structure in 
the form of a committee with the power to implement the TRIPS Agreement. 
4.3  Limited understanding on the part  of the stakeholders (administration 
and IPR enforcement bodies) of matters relating to IPRs (regulations, scope) 
4.6.  To obtain better results in IP enforcement and regulation, all of the economic and social 
actors need capacity building in their respective areas so that they can fulfil their role properly. 
4.7.  The planned training would be tailored to ea ch of the stakeholder groups, i.e. the population, 
IPR enforcement bodies and IP registration bodies, and finally, the administration. 
4.8.  The ministries in charge of industry, cult ure and trade would be responsible for organizing 
the awareness campaign, the forum and the ca pacity building, while the OMDA, the OMAPI 
and IP representatives, the private sector, consum ers, researchers and research centres, students, 
politicians, etc., would all be invited to participate. 
5  STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: STRENGTHENING OF THE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS 
RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING THE REGULATIONS GOVERNING PHARMACEUTICAL AND 
PHYTOSANITARY PRODUCTS 
5.1.  Madagascar is a Member of the WTO and has acceded to the different WTO agreements, 
including the TRIPS Agreement. Certain provisio ns of that Agreement concern public health. 
The health departments responsible for enforcing and regulating pharmaceutical and phytosanitary 
products are having problems implementing the Agreement. 
5.2.  Madagascar has a significant production capacity for pharmaceutical and phytosanitary 
products. However, there are a number of obstacles,  such as taxation of the ingredients and the 
equipment needed for production, the shortage of  laboratory equipment and lack of competence 
among the officials concerned. As a result, local products are no longer able to compete with imported products. 
5.3.  When it comes to marketing pharmaceutic al and phytosanitary products, Madagascar is 
aware of the danger of selling counterfeit medi cines. The procedure for obtaining a Marketing 
Approval Certificate (AMM) from the authorities is cumbersome. The officials responsible for 
controlling medicines are not sufficiently trained in combating counterfeiting. 
5.4.  Consequently, in order to improve access to medicines and to better control counterfeit 
products, Madagascar has identified the following priority needs: 
 technical and financial assistance for the health departments; 
 materials and equipment needed fo r the production of medicines; 
 capacity building on the standardization of control procedures for pharmaceutical, 
phytosanitary and veterinary products; 
 technical and financial assistance for the body responsible for protecting inventions 
deriving form pharmaceutical and phytosanitary products; 
 training with a view to raising awarene ss of the harmful effects of counterfeit 
pharmaceutical products and medicines. 
6  OBJECTIVE: IMPROVEMENT OF IP DISPUTE MANAGEMENT 6.1.  The system of arbitration and mediation has existed in Madagascar for some time now, 
but the economic actors are not very familiar with them. 
6.2.  The law on arbitration was enacted in 1998, and in 2012, a law on mediation was adopted. 
The two laws form part of the Code of Civil Procedure. That same year, the Arbitration and IP/C/W/584 
 
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  Mediation Centre of Madagascar was restructured by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
of Antananarivo. 
6.3.  Support and assistance are requested in the following areas: 6.1  Capacity building on arbitration and mediation 
6.4.  The staff working in this Centre needs better training on IP procedures, both national and 
international, and the agents and officials working in both Offices need to be trained in managing IP conflicts between applicants and authors. 
6.2  Capacity building on international procedures relating to cultural goods 
6.5.  As a former colony, Madagascar had much of its national wealth in cultural property looted. 
Its goods on display in foreign museums have encountered considerable success. 
6.6.  The country's economy, trade and tourism stand to benefit from the repatriation of its 
property, but the officials concerned lack experience  in the procedures that would enable this to 
happen. Hence the need for technical assistance on negotiations relating to the identification and repatriation of these cultural goods. 
7  STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE: ENHANCED REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION 
7.1  Facilitating participation in internationa l and regional meetings organized by WIPO 
7.1.  The presence of IP negotiators at internat ional and regional meetings would ensure a better 
understanding of the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement and more efficient and effective 
implementation of the Agreement. Exchanges of ex perience with other countries and international 
experts from the WTO and WIPO would help to enhance the capacity of the Malagasy actors (officials, agents in the Offices and other bodies, private sector) with respect to the protection 
and use of IP. It would be particularly useful if donors could meet the costs 
of Malagasy representatives to enable them to  participate in meetings and events abroad. 
The national delegation will be reinforced by representatives from the Permanent Mission 
in Geneva, who will follow up the pe riodic meetings on the IP issues. 
7.2.  It goes without saying that upon returning to their country, the negotiators undertake to 
produce a detailed mission report and to report in plenary. As far as possible, they will also 
disseminate what was learned on each mission both at the national level and at the regional level 
through the local representatives of the entities  concerned. The websites of the participating 
institutions should also help to support these outreach efforts. 
7.2  Support for the organization of regi onal and international cultural events 
7.3.  The strengthening of regional and international cooperation creates a capital of leadership 
and knowledge. Leadership and managerial capacity help, in their turn, to create and maintain other forms of capital, and know-how contributes to creative and competitive practices and boosts 
business productivity. Technical assistance is need ed in this area, together with material and 
financial support. 
7.4.  At the same time, the insularity and remoteness of Madagascar have a considerable influence 
on the promotion of trade. Hence the need to develop relations and to exchange experiences with 
partner countries. Madagascar has the potential for a booming music sector, but few international producers and tour organizers are aware of that potential. It would be useful to be able to organize regional and international cultural events with the support of the leading international tour 
organizers as a means of promoting the culture and art of the ocean rim states and improving the 
copyright industry. IP/C/W/584 
 
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  7.3  Introduction of common procedures to fi ght piracy and counterfeiting in the Region 
(Indian Ocean, Southern and Eastern Africa) 
7.5.  The Government has set up an Anti-Piracy Brigade (BAP) within the Ministry of Culture and 
Heritage to combat piracy, theft and looting of the cultural heritage. We would therefore propose 
that this structure, made up of the judicial police from different parts of the National Gendarmerie 
and the National Police, be expanded in order to be able to fight against counterfeiting in general. In addition, we need to set up, in cooperation with Customs and the public entities responsible for 
border control, some kind of regional cooperation in implementing a common procedure that 
complies with the TRIPS Agreement. 
 
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  IP/C/W/584  
 
- 8 - ANNEX B 
OUTLINE PLANNING MATRIX FOR THE PROGRAMMES 
Strategic objectives Needs for technical and financial 
assistance Main activities Leading national bodies 
1. Updating 
intellectual property (IP) policy and legal framework  Strengthening IP policy and legal 
development and coordination capacity 
Support for the reform of IP legislation 
and for the harmonization of sectoral 
policies with the different laws 
Introduction of a system for labelling 
products Organization of a "Forum on IP Policy" 
Assistance in drafting new laws and regulatory texts 
(geographical indications, plant varieties, traditional knowledge and folklore) 
Updating of legislative and regulatory texts governing the 
sector 
Fight against counterfeiting at both the national and 
international level OMAPI 
OMDA Other public and private 
bodies, groupings and civil 
society 
Ministers concerned: Justice, 
Culture and Heritage, 
Handicrafts, Trade, Industry, 
Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Environment 
BAP, OMDA, OMAPI, Customs, 
National Gendarmerie, National Police, Justice, Health 
2. Modernization of the infrastructure for
 
IP administration  Modernization of the organizational 
structure of IPR administration 
Revitalization of the two Offices (OMDA 
and OMAPI) 
Institutional capacity building Computerization of procedures for issuing IP titles 
Separate building for the IP bodies Staff capacity building, design and implementation 
of training programmes OMAPI 
OMDA IP representatives 
Technical and financial line 
ministries  
  IP/C/W/584  
 
- 9 - 3. Using IP for 
development, 
promoting innovation, research, creativity 
and technology 
transfer Organization and systematization of 
technological information, in particular 
intermediate technology (village technology, labour intensive technology 
in public works and construction, 
agricultural machinery adapted to local conditions, intermediate industrial technology) 
Strengthening and optimization of 
technological development assistance structures and mechanisms 
Organization of groups tasked with 
acquiring a command of key technologies (energy, climate change) 
Support for the Chambers of Commerce 
and Industry in the IP area 
Information and awareness-raising for 
micro, small and medium-sized 
enterprises (MSMEs) in the IP area 
Managerial capacity building for 
craftsmen 
Operational capacity building for 
administrative officials Study of the possibility of introducing a National Innovation 
Index in Madagascar 
Organization of a contest/exhibition for amateur Malagasy 
inventors 
Support to the research centres and universities for the 
publication and dissemination of the results of technological research 
Improvement of access to national and international 
databases 
Capacity building for researchers in the technology transfer 
area 
Upgrading of the laboratories and research centres 
Operational capacity building for the government service in 
charge of handicrafts 
Production and managerial capacity building for craftsmen 
Study on appropriate technologies for Madagascar Support for students, craftsmen and enterprises seeking to 
master these technologies  
IP training, documentation and equipment 
Training to improve the competitiveness of handicrafts
 
production units 
Proper protection and exploitation 
Introduction of a network between craftsmen and 
environmental operators 
Introduction of a marketing and distribution network OMAPI 
OMDA 
IP representatives, universities 
and research centres 
Groupings of economic 
operators and professionals 
Consumer associations Chambers of Commerce and 
Industry 
Ministries concerned Association of creative 
craftsmen and distributors 
Decentralized territorial 
communities  
  IP/C/W/584  
 
- 10 - 4. Strengthening the 
IP enforcement and 
regulation regime Informing, educating, and raising the 
awareness of the population with regard 
to the importance of IP 
Introduction of a coordinating structure 
to bringing all the stakeholders together  
Capacity building of all of the economic 
and social actors Periodic organization of IP forums 
Organization of economic events (workshops, seminars, 
exchanges of experience, round tables) down to the grass-roots level  
Organization of a first forum to set up a structure 
(committee capable of implementing the TRIPS Agreement) 
Proper training for each of the stakeholders: population, 
IPR protection bodies and/or IP registration bodies, 
administration Organization: Ministries in 
charge of: 
 - Industry 
 - Culture 
 - Trade 
Participation: 
 - Administration 
- OMDA, OMAPI and 
 IP representatives 
 - Private sector  - Consumers 
- Researchers and 
 research centre 
 - Students 
 - Politicians 
 - Etc.  
  IP/C/W/584  
 
- 11 - 5. Strengthening of 
the health 
departments responsible for 
enforcing the 
regulations governing pharmaceutical and phytosanitary 
products Capacity building for officials in the 
ministries in charge of IP health matters 
and public health 
Technical and financial assistance for 
employees of the office responsible for 
the protection of inventions deriving from pharmaceutical and phytosanitary products 
Capacity building for employees of the 
National Laboratory for Veterinary Diagnosis (LNDV) and the Madagascar 
Medicinal Product Agency as well as for 
border control agents Training on IPRs and public, phytosanitary and veterinary 
health 
Improved standardization of administrative procedures for 
local production of veterinary products 
Traditional medicine practitioners 
Technical and financial assistance for the protection of 
inventions deriving from pharmaceutical and phytosanitary products 
Technical and financial assistance for the protection of the 
results of pharmaceutical research 
Improvement of the standardization of administrative 
procedures for the marketing of pharmaceutical products 
Awareness raising on the dangers of pharmaceutical 
products and counterfeit medicines 
Capacity building for laboratory employees and border 
control agents 
Improvement of laboratory equipment for the LNDV and 
the Madagascar Medicinal Product Agency 
Information/training/exchange of experience 
Protection of patents by requiring and controlling 
marketing authorizations for pharmaceutical products sold 
in Madagascar 
Purchase of a high-capacity incinerator Professionals from the 
Ministries concerned 
Human, veterinary and 
phytosanitary health 
professionals 
Private bodies and veterinary 
and pharmaceutical product researchers 
Traditional medicine 
practitioners' group 
OMAPI 
6. Improvement of 
IP dispute management Capacity building on arbitration and 
mediation 
Capacity building on international 
procedures 
Exchanges of experience on the 
functioning of mediation and arbitration bodies Training on national and international procedures 
Establishment of an arbitration structure specializing in IP 
or strengthening of existing structures Ministries of Justice, Culture 
and Heritage, Trade,   Industry; OMDA, OMAPI, CAMM; Bar Association 
Ministries of Justice, Foreign 
Affairs, Culture and Heritage; Customs  
  IP/C/W/584  
 
- 12 - 7. Enhanced regional 
and international 
cooperation Exchanges of experience 
Institutional capacity building Facilitation of participation in international and regional 
meetings organized by the WTO and WIPO 
Support for the organization of regional and international 
cultural events 
Introduction of common procedures to fight piracy and 
counterfeiting in the region (Indian Ocean, Southern and Eastern Africa) OMAPI 
OMDA 
IP representatives Technical and financial line 
Ministries 
Customs 
 
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