On July 21, 2006 the law of the Republic of Uzbekistan ?On copyright and related rights? in a new edition came into effect.

The previous edition of the law ?On copyright and related rights? was adopted on August 30, 1996. For last 10 years the new objects of the copyright and types of use of productions and performances connected with the scientific and technical progress all over the world, in particular, emergence and development of the Internet network have appeared.

The main purposes of development of the new edition of the Law are:

1) Harmonization of the Law to the provisions of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1971) to which Uzbekistan acceded on April 19, 2005 and the basic international norms in this sphere;

2) Ensuring a possibility of accession of Uzbekistan to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in case of Uzbekistan\'s entry into the World Trade Organization;

3) Regulation of payment modalities of rewards to the authors of productions, performers and producers of phonograms for reproduction of audiovisual productions and phonograms for private purposes (\"domestic copying\");

4) Regulation of payment modalities of rewards to the authors of productions, performers and producers of phonograms for use of audiovisual productions and phonograms during public performance, hire and other cases;

5) Securing provisions regulating the activity of the organizations on management of ownership rights of the authors of productions, performers, producers of phonograms and other legal owners on a collective basis. In the previous edition of the Law there was no provision establishing cases of infringement of copyright and related rights that complicated the procedure of defining whether an action is infringement of copyright and related rights or not. Uzbekistan as well as many other countries (Germany in 1965, later - France, the Russian Federation, Kyrghyzstan, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Congo and others) brought into the legislation the special rules regulating payment modalities of reward to the legal owners for \"domestic copying\" (article 27 of the previous edition of the Law). However until now the given provisions have not found their practical application.

In the new edition of the Law it is provided that the list of equipment and material bearers, those producers and importers should pay reward provided in given law, as well as the rates of such reward should be approved by the Cabinet of the Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Introduction of such order considerably facilitates the definition of cases of reward payment stipulated in this law.

In the new edition of the Law ?On copyright and related rights? a more precise formulation of the right of the author of musical composition specially created for audiovisual performance (a film, a television movie, videofilm, etc.) for receiving the reward for public performance of his musical composition during public performance of audiovisual production, as well as a definition of the order of gathering and distribution of reward to the author of musical composition are provided.

Another new provision in the Law is securing the right of the author and the performer for receiving the reward from hiring the copies of phonograms or audiovisual productions released for commercial purposes when its performance, arrangement or reproduction is recorded or used on phonogram or in audiovisual production. That will provide further observance of the rights of performers or authors of productions during the use of the records of their performance, play or production. Besides the right of the producers and performers of phonograms for receiving the reward for public performance of phonograms, transfer of phonograms for general information through wireless means or by a cable is provided. New edition of the Law will allow provide full observance of the rights of authors, performers and producers of phonograms during hire or different ways of use of productions or phonograms, as well as correspond to world experience. The rate of reward which should be paid in abovementioned cases and the order of its payment will be defined by the state that will provide balance of interests of authors, performers, producers of phonograms, as well as end users of objects of the copyright and related rights.

In modern society the collective administration of the ownership rights of authors is considered to be one of the most appropriate means of ensuring respect for utilized works and fair rewarding for creative labor on generating the cultural wealth, and at the same time, enabling the public to have a quick access to ever-increasing cultural wealth.

The new edition of the Law addresses this issue by incorporating the provisions that regulate the order of producing, purposes and cases of collective administration, functions and responsibilities of such organizations under a special chapter devoted to the collective administration of the ownership rights of authors, performers, phonogram studios and other right holders.

Thus, the new edition of the Law enshrines the provisions regulating the purposes and cases of collective administration of the rights of various categories of owners, functions and tasks of such organizations, which creates favorable conditions for establishing and developing the activity of organizations for collective administration of rights. They, as acknowledged by many experts in this field, ensure the efficient work of the mechanism for securing the rights of authors, performers, phonogram studios and other category of owners, collection and distribution of rewards.

According to experts, addressing the aforementioned issues shall lead to a more explicit understanding of the Law, which will affect the more efficient application of the law on copyright and related rights. Also the enactment of the new law makes it possible to reinvigorate the activity of law enforcement agencies in fight against the import of counterfeit products into the territory of Uzbekistan. This will generate an additional income to the state budget.

It should be also stressed the favorable economic, political, social, cultural and legal consequences of adopting the new redaction of the Law, in particular, enhancing the social impact of the law, increase in the income of domestic right holders, especially in connection with incorporated provisions on the right to receive the reward over various forms of the use of works, phonograms or performances.

As a result of the purposeful policy by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the sphere of culture Uzbekistan ranks the third, behind Russia and the Ukraine, among CIS countries in the export of creative works. Lately, Uzbek music has become very popular in Central Asian countries, which indicates the recognition of our authors at the regional level. The export of our works generates an additional profit to national authors and currency inflow into the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Law will create extra favorable conditions for the export and development of Uzbek culture in neighboring and distant countries.