Uzbekistan Announces Upcoming Improvements to its IPR Protection System

On October 12, 2020, the President of Uzbekistan announced various measures intended to improve the system of intellectual property rights protection in the country.

The Ministry of Justice and the Agency on Intellectual Property have been instructed to develop a three-year strategic plan and organize broad discussions on the topic of IPR protection involving all relevant agencies, regional authorities, universities and research institutions.

The President announced that an online database of IP rights would be created in the first quarter of 2021. He also highlighted the importance of establishing a system of training for IP valuators in cooperation with experts from the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade has been asked to encourage international registration of national trademarks and support their entry into the global market. Interestingly, so far only 72 Uzbek trademarks have been approved for international registration.

The President also announced an initiative intended to prevent the registration of trademarks identical to well-known international brands. Finally, he announced that the Agency of Information and Mass Communications and the Agency on Intellectual Property will monitor entertainment sites and radio and television channels registered in Uzbekistan in order to combat copyright infringement.

It remains to be seen how the announced measures will be implemented in practice, and how they will affect the local IPR protection system in the future.

Prepared by: Djakhangir Aripov

For more information, please contact uzbekistan@petosevic.com.

Source: Official website of the President of Uzbekistan