In accordance with the Law "On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with the improvement of legislation on intellectual property" dated from February 2, 2022 a new type of penalty for trademark infringement was introduced. The relevant changes are reflected in a separate article 371 of the Law "On trademarks, service marks and appellations of origin of goods" (hereinafter the Law).
Article 371 of the Law obliges the infringer to pay a fine in the amount from 100 to 200 Minimum wage rate (around 2500-5000 USD in accordance with current currency rate) for trademark infringement. This fine can be imposed by Intellectual Property Agency under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan (hereinafter, the Agency) based on results of investigation conducted by Agency.
The amount of fines is determined by the Agency for each type of offense separately. There are no methods for determining the amount of the fine, therefore, the amount of the fine depends on the Agency's approach to each individual infringement case. Presumably, several factors, such as the volume of counterfeit goods, availability of the trademark and etc., may affect the determination of the amount of the fine. Imposing fixed amount of fine is a serious step towards ensuring reliable protection trademark rights.
Uzbek Code on “Administrative liability” also prescribes a fine for trademark infringement, but the amount of fine envisaged by this Code is very small (150-300 USD), especially for those, who gain big profits by producing counterfeit goods on a large scale. Accordingly, this amount of fine is not an adequate measure for the efforts expended.