tech track papers

Categories: 2019, Space Policy

Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Commons of Space

“If you build it, he will come.” Many of us are familiar with this famous line from the movie, “Field of Dreams”, the modern-day utopian fantasy about idealistic dreams and their fulfillment. But we – the tech-focused innovators – do not live in that dream world, but rather in the real world. And in the real world (especially in the incredibly expensive world of space), “if you build it” and your customer doesn’t come, it’s over: Your company is done. Want to ensure your customer will come? Offer a high-demand product or service no one else can provide – that is, offer your competitive advantage to your customer. To have a competitive advantage, however, you must have intellectual property (IP) rights. Without IP rights, you’re just another “commoditizer” diving with the rest of the pack to reach the price floor – hopefully before all the others. But space is a whole different ballgame for intellectual property rights. Securing IP rights means navigating a host of convoluted international rules and regulations, all of which are increasingly under enormous pressure to change as a result of both the commercialization of space and the population of space with myriad new members, facts which operate to continually morph the topology of evolving space law. This presentation explores the current international IP regime in space and explains why would-be tech entrepreneurs should understand the current rules. The presentation also focuses on the more practical aspects of acquiring, securing, maintaining and sustaining space-related intellectual property, based on modern trends in space IP law, as well as on the specifics of what every space-tech-oriented entrepreneur should know about navigating the still-uncharted-waters of IP law in space.

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Author: Jack Stuart
Topic: Space Policy

  • Presentation Stuart, Jack - Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Commons of Space_0.pdf

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