Uzbekistan Overhauls Intellectual Property Rules

Uzbekistan has enacted new legislation, effective August 8, aimed at strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights.

Under the new changes, the registration process for industrial property rights has been simplified, The Caspian Post reports, citing Uzbek media.

Patent certificates will now be issued automatically through an electronic system upon registration. Previously, patents were granted only after a 10-day waiting period following the publication of registration details in the official bulletin.

The law also strengthens liability for violations of intellectual property rights. Notably, Article 149 of the Criminal Code has been renamed from “Violation of copyright or inventors’ rights” to “Violation of moral rights of the author.”

According to the revised article, claiming authorship of a work, invention, utility model, industrial design, plant variety, or topography of an integrated circuit without legal grounds, coercing someone into co-authorship, or disclosing information about such objects without the author’s consent prior to official publication is now punishable by:

• a fine of 50-75 base calculation units (equivalent to UZS 20.6-30.9 million),
• restriction of certain rights for up to 5 years,
• up to 360 hours of community service,
• or restriction of freedom for up to 2 years.

However, first-time offenders will be exempt from criminal liability if they remedy the consequences of the violation and compensate for material damages within 30 days from the date the offense is discovered.

The law came into effect on August 9. Amendments to the Criminal Code will take effect three months after the law’s official publication. Under the previous version, the penalty for copyright or inventors’ rights violations was limited to a fine of 25 base calculation units.