Political Science Law
| Open Access |
DOI: Digital Transformation of Copyright Management: Legal Challenges and Prospects for Uzbekistan
Abstract
The rapid development of digital technologies is changing not only the ways in which copyrighted works are created and disseminated, but also the legal mechanisms through which copyright is managed. This article examines whether the current copyright framework of Uzbekistan provides adequate legal mechanisms for the identification of works and right holders, licensing, monitoring of use, and distribution of remuneration in the digital environment. The analysis focuses on the Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Law “On Copyright and Related Rights”, and relevant subordinate legislation, with particular attention to the electronic control copy and the unified database of copyright objects introduced in 2022. The study identifies several structural gaps, including the insufficient regulation of information intermediaries, limited safeguards for collective management organisations, the absence of extended collective licensing and a comprehensive orphan-works regime, unresolved questions concerning artificial intelligence and text-and-data mining, and weaknesses in the preservation and use of digital evidence. Comparative consideration of selected EU, US and Russian approaches is used to formulate proposals suitable for Uzbekistan. The article proposes a coordinated reform model centred on stronger collective management, a clear intermediary-liability regime, targeted regulation of AI-related uses, improved digital enforcement, and a unified national platform, provisionally designated “E-Muallif”, for registration, licensing and remuneration management. The study concludes that technological digitalisation will be effective only when it is supported by a coherent legal and institutional framework.
Keywords
Copyright, related rights, digital copyright management
References
Civil Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Part Two), Articles 1042–1076.
Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. ZRU-42 of 20 July 2006, “On Copyright and Related Rights” (as amended).
Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Administrative Liability, Article 177-1.
Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Articles 149 and 149-1.
Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PF-6079 of 5 October 2020, “On Approval of the Strategy ‘Digital Uzbekistan–2030’”.
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 717 of 29 November 2021.
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 469 of 22 August 2022.
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, Paris Act, 1971.
WIPO Copyright Treaty, 20 December 1996.
Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2000.
Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001.
Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004.
Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012.
Directive 2014/26/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014.
Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Pub. L. No. 105-304 (1998), 17 U.S.C. § 512.
Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Part Four, Articles 1242–1244 and 1253.1.
Gesetz über die Wahrnehmung von Urheberrechten und verwandten Schutzrechten durch Verwertungsgesellschaften (VGG), Germany, 2016.
Yakubova, I. B. (2023). Mualliflik huquqida mulkiy huquqlarni jamoaviy boshqarishni takomillashtirish [Improvement of collective management of economic rights in copyright]. DSc dissertation, speciality 12.00.03. Tashkent: Tashkent State University of Law.
World Intellectual Property Organization. WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook: Policy, Law and Use. Geneva: WIPO.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Abdumalikov Sharof Mirzaxid o‘g‘li
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