The maximum duration of a patent will be 15 years from the filing date of the application from which it is derived, subject to a possible extension for another five years if the invention is actually worked in Madagascar and the extension is in the national interest. Such an extension may be requested by the patentee or a licensee.
Maintenance fees are payable annually on the anniversary of the filing date.
Applications may be filed in either French or Malagasy, but the Patent Office may require translation from whichever language is used into the other. Since Madagascar is a member of both the Paris Convention and PCT, the provisions of these treaties may be invoked in Madagascar applications. Madagascar patents are subject to the possibility of compulsory licensing if the invention is not worked in Madagascar on normal Paris Convention terms. In addition to protection by patents, inventions may also be protected by inventors' certificates of the type formerly granted in the Soviet Union, where the right to use the invention vests in the state. The new law also provides for protection of designs.