An important copyright case has concluded in Uzbekistan. According to the Ministry of Justice, in April of this year, scholar and translator Mark Reese filed a lawsuit with the Uchtepa Interdistrict Civil Court in Tashkent, seeking compensation for damages caused by copyright infringement.
The civil case was reviewed by the court. Based on the court's decision, the defendant, M. Chutpulatov, a responsible official at the Uzbekistan State World Languages University, was ordered to pay compensation to the plaintiff, Mark Reese, in the amount of 50 times the base calculation amount, totaling 20 million 600 thousand soums.
The case arose around the English translation of Abdulla Qodiriy's famous novel "O‘tkan kunlar" (Bygone Days). Previously, Mark Reese had appealed to the Ministry of Justice, stating that he had spent 15 years translating the work into English and that its electronic version was being distributed without his permission.
Based on the appeal, the Ministry of Justice conducted an investigation at the Uzbekistan State World Languages University. It was reported that instances of copyright infringement were identified during the inspection.
Following this, a protocol was drawn up against the university official under Article 177¹ of the Code of Administrative Responsibility, and the case was sent to court. According to the court's decision, the official was fined 2 million 60 thousand soums. Additionally, an obligation was imposed to remove the electronic copy of the work from the unilibrary.uz system.
This situation once again highlights the importance of protecting copyright and intellectual property. In particular, when years of translation work, scientific research, and creative effort are distributed without the author's permission, it is a serious issue not only legally but also morally.
Translating a masterpiece of national literature like "Bygone Days" into another language requires great effort, patience, and responsibility. Therefore, when using such works, it is mandatory to strictly adhere to legal requirements and obtain the consent of the author or rights holder.
In short, the awarding of compensation to Mark Reese demonstrates that copyright infringement has been legally addressed. This event serves as a serious signal for educational institutions, electronic libraries, and content distributors: in the digital age, the "I just copied it, it's fine" approach does not work. Creative work has an owner, rights, and a law that protects it.
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