. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/160
19 October 1999
(99-4483)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
By means of a communication from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Kyrgyz
Republic, dated 15 October 1999, the Secretariat has received a copy of the following answers to
questions posed by Japan.1
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A. LAW ON COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBOURING RIGHTS2
LAW ON LEGAL PROTECTION OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND DATABASES3
1. Please explain how protection is provided for works, phonograms, performances and
broadcasts of other WTO Members under the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights ofthe Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter referred to as the "Copyright and Neighbouring Rights
Law").
Please also describe the provisions of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law
which provide for national treatment and mo st-favoured-nation treatment as required by
Articles 3 and 4 of the TRIPS Agreement and by Article 9.1 of the TRIPS Agreement, which
incorporates Article 5(1) of the Berne Convention.
Article 2 of the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights establishes priority of
international legislation over the national one.
In accordance with Article 5.1 of the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights, copyright
shall extend to works, both disclosed or undisclosed, located in some objective form outside of the
Kyrgyz Republic and recognized as belonging to authors (their legal successors) - nationals of other
countries with regard to the international treaties.
Also according to the Article 34.4 of the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights, rights
of foreign performers, producers of phonograms, cable and air broadcasting organisations are
recognized within the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic pursuant to the international treaties.
Legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic does not contain any exceptions related to the protection
of copyright and neighbouring rights of Member countries of WTO and any advantages, privileges,benefits or immunities, provided for nationals of any other country.
                                                     
1 Document IP/C/W/152.
2 Document IP/N/1/KGZ/C/2.
3 Document IP/N/1/KGZ/C/3.IP/C/W/160
Page 2
Thus, the legal protection of works, performances, phonograms and broadcasting
organisations provided by the national legislation extends to the subject matter of copyright and
neighbouring rights of all WTO Members.
2. Please explain exceptions to or exemptions from national treatment and most-favoured-
nation treatment under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law, if any, as permitted in
Articles 3 and 4 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic does not contain any exceptions, stipulated by Articles 3
and 4 of the TRIPS Agreement as to providing national treatment or most-favoured-nation treatment.
3. With regard to the provisions of protection of "computer programs" under the
Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law and the Law on Legal Protection of Software and
Databases of the Kyrgyz Republic (hereinafter refered to as "the Software and Databases
Law"), please explain whether such protection covers computer programs in both source code
and object code, as required by Article 10.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Are those computer programs protected as literary works, which is stipulated by
Article 2(1) of the Berne Convention (1971)?
Paragraph 4 of  Article 3 of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Legal Protection of Computer
Programs and Databases provides that legal protection shall extend to all types of computer programs(including operational systems and software complexes), which may be expressed in any language
and in any form including original texts and object codes.
Article 2 of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Legal Protection of Computer Programs and
Databases provides legal protection for computer programs as literary works.
Therefore, legal protection of computer programs is provided in the same volume as it is
stipulated for the literary works.
4. Please explain whether "database" under Article 4 of the Copyright and Neighbouring
Rights Law and under Article 1 of the Softwa re and Databases Law include compilations of
data in machine-readable form.  And please explain how those Laws comply with Article 10.2 ofthe TRIPS Agreement in this respect.
Under the Law on Legal Protection of Computer  Programs and Databases, a database is an
objective form of presenting and arrangement of aggregation of data, systematized in such a way that
these data could be found and processed with the help of computer.
With regard to Articles 2 and 3 of the Law on Legal Protection of Computer Programs and
Databases, databases shall be legally protected as compilations, regardless of whether the data on
which they are based or which they include, is the subject matter of copyright.
Therefore, provisions of the Law on Legal Protection of Computer Programs and Databases
contain all requirements of Article 10.2 of the TRIPS Agreement.
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