World Copyright Treaty: Accession by the Republic of Tajikistan

World Copyright Treaty (WCT) Accession by the Republic of Tajikistan.

The World Copyright Treaty was accessed by the Republic of Tajikistan on January 5, 2009 and will go into effect as to Tajikistan on April 5, 2009; the treaty was originally adopted on December 20, 1996.

So what took the Republic of Tajikistan so long to come on board?

And where IS Tajikistan, anyway?

The answer to the second question helps with the answer to the first, so let’s go in that order. Tajikistan is north of Pakistan and Afghanistan, west of China, east of Uzbekistan and south of Kyrgyzstan. In other words, it’s in the far east, in the middle of the Himalayas and not far north of India. This part of the world is not noted for strong enforcement of IP. China — home to more than a billion people — is coming into synch with the western portion of the world, but IP enforcement there is still a long and difficult process. That Tajikistan, its newly independent neighbor (independent since 1991), has accessed this treaty is an immensely positive step in the quest for worldwide recognition of intellectual property rights, and Tajikistan is to be congratulated.