The second meeting of the Societies for the Collective Management of the Property Rights of Authors from the Countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia was held in Baku (Azerbaijan) on July 22, 2022, during which  representatives of the Chamber for the Protection of Copyrights of artists, creators and performers (“SIIP”, Republic of Uzbekistan), the National Association “Copyright” (ANCO, Republic of Moldova) and the National Association of Phonogram Producers and Performers (“ANPFI”, Republic of Moldova) negotiated. The main goal of the negotiations was to establish further fruitful cooperation and sign bilateral agreements on mutual representation for managing the rights of authors and performers.

As emphasized by the CEO of ANCO Oleg Gutyum, “Our goal is to establish mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of protection of copyright and related rights. We noticed, Uzbekistan was taken all measures to strengthen the protection of the rights of authors. By held several meetings both online and offline, we were convinced that SIIP is a reliable partner. We are ready to openly and fruitfully cooperate with SIIP representatives and not only represent each other's interests in our republics, but also provide legal support and assistance, as well as exchange experience.”

Bilateral agreements concluded with representatives of “Copyright” and “ANPFI” entitle SIIP to represent the interests of Moldovan authors, performers and producers of phonograms on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan. And it is mutual beneficial for copyright holders, as representatives of Moldovan Societies entitled to represent the interests of Uzbek authors and performers on territory of Moldova. In addition, the agreements concluded contribute to the establishment of cooperation in the educational and communication fields on the protection of copyright and related rights, as well as the exchange of experience and the further development of legislation.

“Copyright is an integral part of human rights. Everyone is well aware that one of the points to join of the Republic of Uzbekistan the WTO is the observance of intellectual property rights, including in the context of copyright and related rights,” said SIIP Chairman Bobokul Toshev. “Today, by establishing cooperation with foreign Societies for the collective management of the rights of authors, we prove that Uzbekistan is moving in the right direction. We have a strong legislative base, our Chamber is endowed with all powers to collect and distribute remuneration, and our lawyers constantly advise authors and performers on the protection of their rights and represent their interests in court. To date, we have initiated several lawsuits to demonstrate to authors that their rights are well protected. It demonstrates that Uzbekistan is strengthening its positions in the field of copyright protection every day. The agreements concluded with the Societies of the Republic of Moldova will help us to take an active position and allow us to protect the rights of foreign authors.”