
UZBEKISTAN – KYRGYZSTAN SUMMIT – AN INDICATOR OF NEW TRENDS IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN REGION
The state visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Kyrgyzstan ended the day before. Undoubtedly, the significance of its results will go down in the history of bilateral relations. Moreover, they mark a new stage in the process of regional cooperation. I would even say that the significance of the results of the visit goes beyond the region and may even play an important role in stabilizing the entire system of international relations.
There are good reasons for such an assertion. During the visit, an end was finally put to the issue of settling the state border, which for many years was a source of interstate tension and held back the full potential of bilateral cooperation, moreover, served as a pretext for positioning the region as a hotbed of permanent instability. This had a negative impact on the efforts of our countries to attract investment and implement long-term plans for sustainable development. Earlier, Uzbekistan settled the issue of delimitation of borders with Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and closed the issue of demarcation with Kazakhstan. This, of course, is a big breakthrough and will become a new starting point in the formation of a new architecture not only for bilateral, but also for regional cooperation.
WHAT ACTIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO STRENGTHEN UZBEKISTAN’S POSITION IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA IN THE FIELD OF COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS PROTECTION?
“Intellectual Property is the oil of the 21st century”
Mark Getty
Intellectual property is the output of human mental activity. It is one of the components of economic development. Every country should have a strong legal system for the protection of intellectual property and the authors of intellectual property should be supported by the state to achieve a high level of economic and social development.
Today, several activities are being carried out in Uzbekistan regarding the development of intellectual property and its legal protection. Systematic work is being conducted in our country to strengthen the legal protection of intellectual property, including copyright and related rights as well as to eliminate existing problems in this area.
As a result of the systemic reforms realised in the Republic over the past three years, work on copyright and related rights protection has accelerated. In particular:
THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IS A GUARANTEE OF POSITIVE CHANGES
"If we do not consider the issue of intellectual property at the level of state policy, Uzbekistan will not be competitive even after 10 years"
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev
(From a speech at a meeting held on October 12, 2020 regarding measures to improve the system of protection of intellectual property objects)
In the second half of the 18th century, the world got steam-powered steamboats, high-speed cars of their time, and high-efficiency spinning machines. As a result of such changes, a great industrial revolution took place. Mankind began to treat the results of their intellectual activity (inventions, written works) in a different way. They began to protect them in the same way as they protected their grain and house. In doing so, they understood that intellectual property created by humans has a certain value like other properties. The great industrial revolution that changed the world led people to develop a sense of respect for such intellectual property.
So, how does today's world, in particular, the Republic of Uzbekistan, react to intellectual property? What is being done to develop this field?
LEGAL PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF IP IN UZBEKISTAN
I. Intellectual property is an internationally inclusive area
Intellectual property is regulated by the same procedures, methods and forms all over the world on the basis of international treaty norms. In particular, the procedures for registering intellectual property objects and issuing protection certificates are the same in the US, EU countries and Uzbekistan.
The rules established in the domestic law of all countries concerning the legal protection of intellectual property objects are deemed to be consistent with the requirements of international treaties in the field of intellectual property.
Under international treaties, inventions, utility models, industrial designs, plant varieties and animal breeds, trademarks (service marks), geographical indications, appellations of origin, computer programs and databases are protected by national intellectual property offices, i.e. they are registered by the State and appropriate protection certificates are issued.
(In all countries, including Uzbekistan, objects of copyright and related rights are not subject to State registration and are protected by law and are enforced by the State from the moment of their creation.)
THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS AS THE TRAJECTORY FOR ACTION IN 2023
Obid Khakimov,
Director of the Center for Economic Research and Reforms
under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
On December 20, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev delivered anAddress to the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) and the people of Uzbekistan, in which he summed up the results of the outgoing year and outlined the priorities of the policy in 2023. In the Address that has become traditional since December 2017, the President summarizes the results of the outgoing year, suggests the course for the next year and puts forward priority policy directions for the coming year.
The President proposed to name the 2023 year as "The Year of Caring for People and Quality Education," while pointing out that "improving the quality of education is the only right way to develop the New Uzbekistan."
In the economic sphere, for the first time, Uzbekistan's gross domestic product exceeded $80 billion, $8 billion of foreign direct investment was attracted, and exports reached $19 billion.