THE COLLISION OF IMAGE RIGHTS AND COPYRIGHT IN UZBEKISTAN: LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND REFORM PROPOSALS

Uzbek law currently affords individuals broad privacy and personality protections – the Constitution guarantees “inviolability of private life, personal and family secrets, [and] protection of honor and dignity” – and the Civil Code lists the “right to an image” among non‑property personal rights that are inalienable. At the same time, Uzbekistan’s Copyright Law (LRU-42/2006) grants photographers and other creators exclusive control over their visual works. However, no dedicated statute clarifies how these interests interact. As one analysis notes, Article 99 of the Civil Code declares the image right “inalienable and inviolable”, but the law “does not stipulate whether a citizen’s permission is required in order to photograph him/her” or how photos taken in public may be used. In practice, this gap means a photographer might hold valid copyright in a portrait while the depicted person claims a personal right to control that image – a conflict left unresolved by current law.