98 percent of Tajikistan’s population have access to electronic media

Currently, there are nine State broadcasting entities, eighteen private production studios, and six private radio companies. This data was presented by Barakatullo Abdulfaizov, head of the legal and human resource policy department under the State TV and Radio Committee at a workshop “Tajik copyright legislation and its practical implementation”.

The workshop was organized by the State TV and Radio Committee under the Government of Tajikistan, and by the Tajik Ministry of Culture. The goal of the event was to tell the participants about the Tajik legislation on copyright and allied rights, and to exchange opinions on relevant legal problems.

In particular, the participants discussed the issues of remuneration to freelance journalists and producers working for domestic TV and radio companies.

Abdulfaizov explained that, according to the legislation, there are three types of honoraria: the author’s honorarium, the artistic honorarium (for stage directors), and the honorarium for freelancers. The amount and terms of the author’s honorarium are established by the parties in an agreement (contract). As for the use of TV and radio products, it is discussed on the basis of a bilateral agreement between the TV and Radio Committee and the production studio.

Regrettably, TV and radio companies – both the State and the private ones – are still using pirate media products without any permission from the government body. Some individuals produce and disseminate unlicensed products. The government bodies carry out special raids; however, these measures prove to be insufficient. The participants of the workshop suggested to study the problem more thoroughly, and simplify the process of licensing for those involved in production of video and audio commodities. The participants also supported the idea of organizing similar workshops in the country regions.

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