The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Personal Data provides for a comprehensive regime of data protection regime in Uzbekistan. It is the first unified data protection law and outlines requirements for data subjects' consent, the purposes of processing, and notifying data subjects when transferring their personal data to a third party. The excludes biometric, educational, criminal and health information, previously included in a draft version, from its application.

Art. 15 of the Law on Cybersecurity provides that operators of critical facilities must store a backup copy of all data from information systems and resources for at least three months. This requirement affects businesses that possess, operate or interoperate information systems used in critical facilities, including public administration and the provision of public services, defence, national security, law enforcement, fuel and energy industries (including nuclear energy), chemical and petrochemical industries, metallurgy, water management and water supply, agriculture, public health, housing and utility services, banking and finance, transportation, information and communication technologies, ecology and environmental protection, extraction and processing of minerals of strategic importance, manufacturing, other sectors of the economy and the social sphere.

Uzbekistan has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty in July 2019.

Law LRU-374 provides a framework for the effective protection of trade secrets.

There is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Uzbekistan to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is reported that passive sharing is practised in the mobile sector based on commercial agreements.

Foreign operators are reportedly not permitted to own or operate an international gateway. The ownership and operation of international gateways are monopolised by Uzbektelecom, a state-controlled entity.

The government owns shares in several telecommunications companies. In particular, 96.4% of the shares of Uzbektelecom JSC are held by Uzbek public institutions. In addition, three of the five mobile operators active in the mobile market are state-owned, namely Ucell (49% owned by the State Assets Management Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan), Mobiuz (fully owned by the Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications), and UzMobile (sub-brand of Uzbektelecom).

Uzbekistan does not mandate functional or accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

It is reported that licensing can be an instrument of control in the telecommunications sector, that the process is often encumbered by political interests and has historically been marred by bribery. Annex No. 1 of Law No. LRU-701 lists the activities for which a licence is required, including design, construction, operation, and provision of services of telecommunications networks. In addition, Annex No. 15 of Resolution No. 80 lists the documents to be submitted for obtaining the license and establishes the licensing requirements and conditions to be met when carrying out licensed activities, including the licensee's participation in the implementation of national programs for the development of telecommunications to solve national problems, and the mandatory provision of services to consumers in rural areas, sparsely populated and hard-to-reach areas.

Uzbekistan has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments. In fact, the country is not a member of the WTO.

Art. 46 of Law No. LRU-598 stipulates that legislation may impose restrictions or prohibitions on foreign investment in specific areas of the economy to safeguard public health, flora and fauna, the environment, and national security interests. Reports indicate that the government may conduct screening of foreign investments, particularly in strategic sectors such as telecommunications; however, the screening process lacks transparency.

According to Art. 6 of Decree No. 5495, the minimum size of the authorised capital of companies with foreign investment is UZS 400 million (approx. 33.000 USD), while it was previously UZS 600 million (approx. 48.500 USD).

In accordance with Art. 35 of the Law No. 397-II, natural persons permanently residing outside the Republic of Uzbekistan or foreign legal entities can only apply for patents of industrial property objects through patent attorneys registered with the Agency for Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Also, it is reported that an application should be filed in Uzbek or Russian language. If the application is filed in any other foreign language, the translation into Uzbek or Russian thereof should be provided within two months from the date of filing.

In accordance with Art. 35 of Law No. 397-II, natural persons permanently residing outside the Republic of Uzbekistan or foreign legal entities shall perform legally significant actions in connection with patents through patent attorneys registered with the Agency for Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Moreover, it is reported that while Uzbekistan’s legal framework for patent protection is generally sufficient, enforcement remains one of the biggest challenges.

Uzbekistan is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). However, the country does not consider itself bound by Art. 59 related to disputes. It should be noted that this treaty was signed in 1970 when Uzbekistan was still part of the Soviet Union. Upon gaining independence, Uzbekistan issued a declaration of continued application, with the date of entry into force set as December 1991, corresponding to the country's independence.