Domain names and brand protection in Uzbekistan

A local or foreign company may register a .uz domain, but registering an address does not replace trademark protection. Registration lasts at least one year, with the price set by the registrar. Brand protection involves the .UZ Regulation, the trademark and trade name laws, the Civil Code and, in litigation, procedural rules.

At a glance:

• a foreign company may register .uz regardless of its location;
• an available address does not establish that the designation is free from third-party rights;
• registration begins on activation; after expiry, the domain remains allocated to its existing administrator for seven days;
• a complaint about a product listing, a demand to stop using a trademark and a domain dispute pursue different results;
• brand protection depends on an established right, when it arose and the particular use of the designation.

Updated: 16 September 2026

How trade names, trademarks and domains differ

These objects may contain the same word, but establish different rights. A trade name identifies a commercial organization, a trademark distinguishes goods or services, and a domain identifies an internet resource. Here, “brand” means a commercial name and its associated designations, rather than a separate certificate.

The exclusive trademark right applies from the registration date (Art. 26, Trademark Law) to the goods specified in the certificate. For a similar designation, the law considers confusing similarity and whether the goods are of the same kind. An identical word in a website address therefore does not remove the need to examine the basis and scope of the claim.

A registered domain is not the administrator’s personal property: the Regulation establishes a right to use the domain, which may be transferred by contract. Buying a domain does not mean acquiring the corresponding trademark. Assignment of the exclusive trademark right and a licence require separate arrangements; the relevant contracts must be registered with the Ministry of Justice (Art. 30, Trademark Law).

This article addresses an internet address and the enforcement of existing rights. The guide to trademarks explains applications, examination, fees and international protection. It is relevant where the designation is not yet registered or the goods covered do not include a new business activity.

How to register .uz and what it costs

An application goes to a registrar. A list of active registrars and their contact details must be published on the .UZ administrator’s website. Checking whether an address is available and checking third-party designations serve different purposes: responsibility for selecting the name and possible infringement rests with the applicant.

The domain must contain more than one character. Latin letters a–z, digits 0–9 and hyphens are permitted; a name cannot begin or end with a hyphen. Priority for the first applicant applies only to a name that is not reserved and does not infringe laws or treaties.

An application may be submitted online, by email or on paper: this means the registrar’s website, an email to the registrar or a written paper application. The Regulation distinguishes application review, entry of information, conclusion of the contract and activation.

Registration may be refused on the following grounds: the name does not meet the character requirements; it is already registered and in the register; it appears on the reserved names list; or the applicant has not remedied the reasons for suspending review within the prescribed period. This is the list of registration refusal grounds, rather than every possible reason for a later dispute over rights.

The amount and payment procedure for registration and renewal are set by the registrar, subject to the Regulation and its agreement with the .UZ administrator. The applicant pays under its own contract: this provision does not prescribe a fixed state duty for every .uz domain. Before paying, check the period, renewal price and included services. If activation is refused and the reason cannot be remedied, the domain administrator may demand a full refund of the registration payment from the registrar.

Can a foreign company register a .uz domain

Yes. The Regulation permits registration by any individual or legal entity, regardless of nationality or residence. This provision does not make the applicant’s entitlement conditional on establishing an Uzbek subsidiary. The applicant must nevertheless provide the information required by the form and substantiate its accuracy if the registrar requests this.

The legal entity application form contains the following groups of information:

• company name, and the full name and position of the person entering into the contract;
• postal address, including country, city, street, building and postcode, telephone or fax, email and taxpayer identification number;
• bank name and code, and account number;
• administrative and technical contacts: full name, position, postal address, telephone or fax, and email;
• billing contact: full name, position, postal address, postcode, and telephone or fax;
• full domain name, registration term, and details of the primary and secondary DNS servers — domain name system servers;
• application date and signature of the head of the organization.

Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk. The form includes tax and banking details but does not explain a separate method of completing them for every foreign jurisdiction. Before paying, obtain the chosen registrar’s instructions for entering foreign details and confirming the signatory’s authority. Do not assume that a mandatory field may simply be left blank: the registrar may request confirmation of the information supplied.

In practice, the application should name the company intended to control the domain’s use, with employees’ details entered in the appropriate contact fields. If a contractor or distributor is the applicant, any dispute will have to be assessed in light of that registration and the contracts between the parties.

Protection of a foreign trade name is a separate issue. It starts when the foreign entity begins participating in civil commerce (Art. 5, Trade Names Law) in Uzbekistan. The right is evidenced by a document from its incorporation jurisdiction (Art. 6 of that Law), while equal rights are granted through an international treaty or reciprocity (Art. 13 of that Law). Registering .uz alone does not establish these conditions.

How to renew a domain and transfer it to another person

Renewal maintains registration, while changing registrars and transferring the right to another person are separate actions. The registrar must send a renewal notice two months before expiry. Automatic renewal is possible if the contract provides for it, for at least one year.

After expiry, the domain is deactivated and remains allocated to its previous administrator for another seven days. This does not promise that the website will function throughout that period. If registration is not renewed or the administrator voluntarily relinquishes use, the domain is released; once its information is removed from the register, it becomes available for new registration.

Changes to application information or administrator details must be reported to the registrar within ten days. For a business, this is a reason to maintain a functioning email address and current contacts: renewal notices go to the application’s contact details.

On a change of registrar, the steps needed to transfer obligations to the new registrar must be taken within two working days after receiving the domain administrator’s notice. Transferring the domain to another person has a different condition: at least six months must have elapsed since registration, and at least thirty days must remain before expiry. Written confirmation and a new application are required: confirmation from the existing administrator and an application from the person acquiring the right.

How domain disputes and cybersquatting are addressed

The right holder must identify the infringed right and explain how the domain is used. The Regulation prohibits several forms of abusive use:

• cybersquatting — obtaining profit or other advantages by infringing a third party’s rights;
• registering a conflicting name in the cases listed in paragraph 75: identity or confusing similarity with earlier protected domain names, trade names and designations of origin, subject to that paragraph’s qualifications;
• domain grabbing — advance mass registration of names denoting generic concepts for resale substantially above actual costs, gaining an advantage, restricting competitors’ market access or obstructing their business;
• registration solely for transfer to a particular third party for profit and to pursue a self-serving purpose, taking that party’s interests or those of other potentially interested persons into account.

The second item above is an abbreviated description: any specific conflict must be checked against the full provision. For trademarks, the law also expressly states that using a designation in a domain name (Art. 27, Trademark Law) may constitute trademark use. Sales on the website, advertising and offers to buy goods help establish the domain’s actual connection with the relevant goods.

The date when the right arose matters. Use of a trade name in a domain or trademark does not infringe the exclusive trade name right if the domain or trademark right was acquired earlier (Art. 11, Trade Names Law). This does not mean every earlier domain is protected against all claims: the subject of the dispute and any other infringed rights still need to be established.

The Regulation provides for settlement through negotiation and the injured party’s right to bring a court claim. A demand letter should identify the domain, right, dates, facts of infringement and requested action. Demands to stop use, transfer the right and recover money should be expressed separately, rather than reduced to a request to “return the brand”.

During court, arbitral or other dispute proceedings, and during deactivation, re-registration is prohibited. Deactivation or cancellation is possible through the procedure established by legislation or under a court judgment in legal force. Cancelling an entry and registering the domain to the right holder are different outcomes; the claim and subsequent request to the registrar should clearly identify the action to be implemented.

How to complain to a marketplace or social network

A complaint should link an established right to a specific listing, post, advertisement or profile. The practical contents below help explain the infringement; they are not a mandatory universal form for all platforms or a promise of a particular blocking deadline.

1. Identify the right holder and the representative’s authority.
2. Attach details of the effective trademark, its owner, protected territory and goods, or documents establishing another protected right.
3. Provide separate URLs for the disputed listings, posts and profiles, with seller or account identifiers.
4. Explain the infringement: a similar designation, an offer of counterfeit goods, impersonation of an official resource, or copying protected material. Do not combine different grounds without explanation.
5. Attach preserved evidence, state the discovery date and specify the request: remove material, stop the particular use or investigate the account.
6. Keep the complaint, attachments, reference number and response. If clarification is requested, address it in relation to the original complaint ground.

For a marketplace, start with its published trading and service rules (Art. 13, Electronic Commerce Law). For a social network, use the channel its interface provides for the relevant infringement. A trademark complaint should explain the right to the designation; a complaint about a copied photograph should explain the right to the photograph. Copyright arises through creation of the work (Art. 10, Copyright Law), but the complainant must still establish why it is entitled to seek protection.

The absence of a dealership agreement does not itself establish that goods are counterfeit. The law permits trademark use for goods lawfully placed in civil circulation (Art. 1107-1, Civil Code) by the owner or with its consent. A complaint should therefore distinguish the goods’ origin from the page’s presentation and the seller’s claims of affiliation with the right holder.

The Electronic Commerce Law sets a limit on operator liability (Art. 12): the operator is not responsible for legal consequences associated with the content of electronic documents and messages transmitted to it. This does not remove its own statutory and contractual obligations or make every complaint an automatically substantiated claim against the platform. A platform response removing a listing also does not decide compensation or entitlement to a domain.

This section addresses a brand owner’s complaint about a particular infringement. The article on marketplaces examines operator status, service rules and allocation of obligations. It is relevant where a company runs a platform itself or structures its contractual relationship with one.

What evidence is needed and when to go to court

First preserve the disputed resource’s content and the documents establishing your right. A working file includes the page URL, capture date and time, visible designation, complete listing or post, seller details, correspondence, purchase documents if any, and domain registration information. This practical list should be supplemented according to the facts.

In economic proceedings, electronic files and internet information are digital evidence (Art. 76-2, Economic Procedure Code). Copies must preserve integrity and identity; admissibility is supported by the availability of the original, except for notarized digital evidence. A simple printout does not itself become written evidence. It is therefore useful to retain original files, rather than only inserting images into a demand letter.

If evidence may later disappear or become difficult to produce, a notary may certify facts on the internet (Art. 70-2, Notaries Law). This can be particularly relevant to editable listings, stories and posts. Recording the evidence establishes the resource’s content; ownership of the right and the legal characterization of infringement must be substantiated separately.

Economic disputes between legal entities and individual entrepreneurs fall within the economic court’s jurisdiction (Art. 25, Economic Procedure Code), subject to statutory qualifications. Jurisdiction must be checked separately for other combinations of parties and claims. The .uz ending alone does not determine the type of proceedings.

The court may grant proportionate interim measures, including a prohibition on particular actions (Art. 94 of that Code) by the defendant or other persons. These are only some of the available measures. For trademark and unlawful domain use disputes, the Plenum expressly explained that cancellation, transfer of administration and changing the registrar may be prohibited. An application should explain the prohibition’s connection with the dispute and why the position needs to be preserved pending judgment.

What the infringer pays and which remedies are available

Stopping infringement, a private monetary claim and a public-law fine have different grounds. A person unlawfully using a trademark must stop the infringement and compensate losses (Art. 1107, Civil Code); statutory compensation may be sought instead of damages. Counterfeit goods, packaging and labels are subject to seizure and destruction at the infringer’s expense.

The trademark owner may demand compensation of between 8.800.000 and 440.000.000 soums (Art. 26, Trademark Law) from the infringer instead of damages. This means twenty to one thousand times one BRV, the base calculation unit. Compensation is payable regardless of whether losses occurred, taking account of the infringement’s nature, culpability and business customs; the amount is set by agreement or by the court. The upper limit is not an automatic award for every complaint.

Trade name protection includes the following remedies (Art. 12, Trade Names Law): publication of the judgment to protect business reputation; removal of the unlawful name from counterfeit goods, labels and packaging at the infringer’s expense; destruction at its expense where removal is impossible; damages or compensation of 8.800.000 to 440.000.000 soums; and transfer of the counterfeit goods, labels and packaging to the right holder. Other lawful remedies are also permitted. Compensation is determined by agreement or the court, regardless of the existence of losses, considering the infringement’s nature, culpability and business customs.

Unlawful use of a trademark or a confusingly similar designation for goods of the same kind may result in a fine of 44.000.000 to 88.000.000 soums (Art. 37-1, Trademark Law) imposed on a legal entity. The justice authority acts on the results of a statutory inspection initiated by the right holder’s application. After the decision is sent, the infringer has one month to pay voluntarily; payment of seventy percent releases it from the balance. If it does not pay, the justice authority brings a court claim. This fine is not paid to the brand owner in place of compensation.

Example. Assume a legal entity receives a fine of one hundred BRV — 44.000.000 soums. If the voluntary payment conditions are met, the calculation is 44.000.000 × 70% = 30.800.000 soums; the waived balance is 44.000.000 − 30.800.000 = 13.200.000 soums. This illustrates a fine calculation, rather than an estimate of compensation to the right holder or a price for recovering the domain.

What changed in 2025–2026

• UP-214 of 14 November 2025 allowed individual entrepreneurs to have a trade name from 1 January 2026. Checks of designations should therefore not assume that trade names concern companies alone.
• Plenum Resolution 19 of 03.07.2026 explains interim relief. As a general rule, measures are unavailable before proceedings are initiated, with an exception for a claim being heard by a domestic arbitral tribunal. An application submitted with the claim is decided when the claim is accepted and proceedings are initiated. A demand to the registrar and a court application for interim relief therefore serve different functions.

What a brand owner should check before filing

To select a remedy, prepare a short chronology: when the trade name right arose, trademark filing and registration, domain registration, and discovery of the disputed use. Then match the document holders to the actual seller, domain administrator and complainant. Differences between these persons should be explained by documents, rather than a general statement that the brand belongs to a corporate group.

Before sending the complaint or demand, check:

• whether the right remains effective and covers the disputed goods or services;
• which action infringes the right and where the evidence is preserved;
• whether the other party has an earlier right or a basis for using the designation;
• whether the required outcome concerns the platform, cessation of domain use, amendment of the registration entry or recovery of money;
• who can perform the requested action and which documents establish the applicant’s authority;
• whether your own domain registration is approaching expiry and access to the contact email is retained.

One set of documents can be organized around these questions, but each communication should have an addressee and request appropriate to its purpose. This helps distinguish correction of a listing from litigation over rights and implementation of a judgment in the domain register.

Frequently asked questions

Must a company be established in Uzbekistan just to register .uz?

The Regulation permits registration by an individual or legal entity regardless of nationality or residence. Creating a local company is not stated as a condition of that entitlement. A foreign company must nevertheless complete the required form and provide accurate information. Ask the chosen registrar how foreign tax and banking details should be entered before entering into the contract, without assuming an automatic exemption from mandatory fields.

Can a domain be recovered solely because it matches a company name?

An identical name does not establish infringement by itself. Check when the rights arose, the nature of the designation and the domain’s actual use. For trade names, the law expressly recognizes the significance of an earlier domain or trademark right. If the claim is based on a trademark, its protection, relevant goods and similarity must also be assessed. The outcome depends on those facts and the remedy sought.

Does a marketplace complaint automatically lead to compensation?

Removal of a listing and a monetary claim are separate matters. The complaint must identify the specific material, right and infringement. Compensation for trademark infringement is determined by agreement or the court within statutory limits. A platform decision to hide a product does not automatically establish the amount or person liable for compensation, and a public-law fine on a legal entity does not replace payment to the right holder.

Is a screenshot sufficient for a domain dispute?

A screenshot may form part of the evidence, but its value depends on the facts it establishes and how it was preserved. Record the address, date, content and original files. Economic proceedings require preservation of a digital copy’s integrity and, generally, its original; notarized evidence is an exception. Where a page may be deleted, notarization can be used to preserve evidence.