ABSTRACT

Space activities are no longer a field monopolized only by States; more and more private entities and individuals show great interest and many have already set their feet in the field. The participation of private entities no doubt adds to the complexity in the regulatory regime for such activities, especially with regard to the civil and commercial aspects of the legal regime. Intellectual property protection is one major issue requiring serious consideration. It offers private entities the exclusive right to use and profit from the use of their own inventions and creations. Through years of development, a complete set of rules has already been put in place to provide a transparent regime for intellectual property protection; however, it is not clear whether these rules apply to activities conducted in outer space, where no State can claim sovereignty. This situation is not conducive to the development of space activities and the participation of private entities, as one of their major concerns would be the possibility to retrieve profits from their investments and contribution to space activities. Consequently, a timely discussion and clarification on either the possible application of the existing intellectual property rules to outer space or the necessity of separate rules for space activities is extremely important and beneficial for the continued involvement of private entities in the field. One fundamental issue arises from the important concepts of “for benefit and in the interests

of all countries” and “province of all mankind” defined in the Outer Space Treaty.1 One may argue on this basis that the inventions and economic returns cannot be monopolized by the State or entity carrying out the space activities. However, this has been widely considered to be detrimental to the development of space technologies and activities; without fair economic returns, no States or entities would be interested in the potentially exorbitant and risky investment in outer space. Accordingly, the intellectual property regime is necessary for space activities; the issue of licensing on fair and reasonable terms to other States or entities could be

regime should be able to encourage invention and competition; for this purpose, “an optimum balance is needed between the interests of the inventor, the State concerned, and those who improve space technology.”3