Ministry of Justice uncovers mass copyright violations at Uzbek universities

The Ministry of Justice has identified more than 1,000 publications infringing copyright on the online resources of higher education institutions.

Based on online reports, the ministry’s Intellectual Property Center conducted inspections at five state universities:

• National University of Uzbekistan
• Tashkent State University of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi
• Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies
• State Institute of Arts and Culture of Uzbekistan
• Nizami National Pedagogical University

The inspections uncovered more than 1,000 literary works that had been scanned and published on the unilibrary.uz system or on universities’ social media pages without authorization and without agreements with the rights holders.

Following the inspections, the Ministry of Justice drew up administrative protocols against university officials for violations of Article 177–1 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility and submitted them to the courts. Ministry staff also held explanatory sessions with university representatives on copyright issues to prevent future violations.

Under Article 65 of the Law “On Copyright and Related Rights,” an author or other rights holder whose rights are infringed may seek compensation from the violator. The amount may range from 20 to 1,000 base calculation values (UZS 8.24 million – UZS 412 million).

In November, a court issued a ruling in a case involving the unauthorized publication of the English translation of Abdullah Qodiriy’s novel Bygone Days. The Ministry of Justice established that an employee of the Uzbekistan State World Languages University scanned a copy of the book donated to the university and uploaded it to unilibrary.uz without permission.

The court fined the employee 5 base calculation amounts (UZS 2.06 million) – the minimum penalty envisaged under Article 177–1 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility – and ordered the removal of the electronic copy from unilibrary.uz.

The author of the translation, Mark Reese, described the publication as theft of intellectual property and stressed that it reflects attitudes toward the work of authors and translators in Uzbekistan. Such cases undermine trust in the country as a partner capable of protecting copyright, he said.

Experts have noted the widespread nature of copyright violations in Uzbekistan and the resulting reputational damage to the country. In their view, fostering a culture of paid content requires convenient and user-friendly payment options.