Kazakhstan Roundtable on Copyright and Related Rights

On August 26, 2010, the Intellectual Property Rights Committee of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan presented its achievements in the first half of 2010 during the roundtable on copyright and related rights.

In the first six months of 2010, the Committee registered 1,131 compositions, which is a 29 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The number of inspections has increased and the authorities seized 63,000 illegal copies of various content worth approximately EUR 120,000 (USD 153,000).

127 people or entities were held responsible for violating the law on copyright and related rights. The majority of the violations consisted of illegal use of audiovisual materials and phonograms.

The deputy chair of the Committee stressed that the amount of piracy has become equivalent to the amount of illegal trafficking of drugs and weapons, and that unless the authorities and interested parties join efforts in safeguarding copyright and related rights, adequate law enforcement will be impossible.

For more information, please contact Masa Lopicic at our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: Kazakh National IP Institute