INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN SPACE : RIGHTS IN OUTER SPACE

INTRODUCTION

International Space law is organized in its manner regulating activities and explorations beyond Earth, but we also need to understand what exactly space rights are about intellectual property. If there were no Intellectual Property Rights in today’s era it would be chaos in today’s world. The Owner of any invention has its struggle behind its creation, whether or not it is related to individual interest or huge space explorations, the Intellectual Property should be protected no matter how big or small it is.

Intellectual property rights serve as the protection tool for the inventors from infringers, the invention of any product is the result of the sweat and blood of the inventor. One might think that IP protection is limited to the country where the inventor is living or has resided, but beyond our borders up above the sky lies the vast void of outer space. This raises an intriguing question: what happens to Intellectual Property Rights in outer space?

Glance of Space Treaty of 1967

To understand laws in different aspects of space, we have to first look at insights of treaties related to Outer space. The Space Treaty came before the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 and was mainly based on the approaches and activities of states for the use of outer space. The Treaty provides basic provisions for the exploration of space, the moon, and other celestial bodies and also includes provisions like the use of outer space only for peaceful purposes, no harmful destruction or nuclear weapons to be practiced in space, etc.

Private Sector Involvement in Outer Space

On the one hand, we are protecting the rights of the owner of Intellectual Property in the exploration of outer space, on the other hand, we also have laws related to outer space which somehow contradict the laws of the Intellectual Property when it comes to outer space treaty.

Denying commercial companies their investment return or risking their intellectual property rights through required licensing would be unfavorable to the study and advancement of technology related to space travel. The other view is that the advancement of communications, earth observation, and remote sensing technologies is essential for the socioeconomic development of underdeveloped nations.

Conflict and Challenges Between Outer Space Laws and Intellectual Property

The concept lies in the jurisdiction, simply quoting that Government organizations are the sole beneficiaries when it comes to the use of their Space objects in outer space.  In the Outer Space Treaty, it is mentioned that no state can claim ownership of the Outer Space.

At present all current IPR rules are based on the concepts of territoriality and sovereignty of one’s nation, but it does not extend to celestial bodies or outer space. As a result, dishonest use of any kind is currently illegal and unfeasible under the current legal system. Securing intellectual property rights (IPR) is very important to extend space exploration for commercial purposes. Without a proper intellectual property rights (IPR) framework any invention or discovery resulting from research conducted in space and on terrestrial bodies such as the moon, private investment would be difficult to put in play.

Mission Consumption of Intellectual Property by ISRO

In India, we have seen many space explorations being completed by the India Space Research Organization, with Chandrayan 3 being one of the most prominent missions of it. But initiating these missions is not as easy as it sounds. We know that IP is important in every space project and in the same manner, a huge amount of intellectual property has been consumed in the success of Chandrayan 3. Like other space organizations that have the protection of IP laws by their respective country’s legislation, ISRO also has its IP in different major areas concerning technologies and how low-cost space exploration. Of these some of the IPs would be in the form of Trade Secrets while others would be in the form of patents, copyrights and designs. They help to attract the business, analyze trade competition and facilitate the formation of the new international legal frameworks.

Some of ISRO’s IP strategies are categorized in India for the advancement of human being in space and diverse areas and based on an international treaty on utilization of resources from celestial bodies and data use..

Purpose of Intellectual Property Rights in Space

In India Copyright Act does not define the term Originality Specifically, original, literary, dramatic, or creative works are mentioned in the statute. In India, the use of direct broadcast satellite technology creates copyright issues. In a manner, space does not grant intellectual property rights because of the Outer Space Treaty (OST), which specifies the advantages of space exploration to be shared. Only items sent into space are awarded exclusive rights, with the launching states deciding which objects fall within their jurisdiction.

Coming to Trademark protection in outer space we know that different rockets have different words and factors that make them different so that they can be recognized by their tagged organizations therefore in space exploration they have these marks that make them unique. Therefore to protect these rights when these rockets reach outer space intellectual property plays a vital role even in the void space.

We know that the Space Treaty was established for the betterment of humankind concerning the use of space. Patents are typically bound by territorial limits where they are patented, but according to the Outer Space Treaty (OST) space is considered a common heritage of mankind, this particular rights create a conflict between patent rights and space law principles.

Protection of IPR in Outer Space

According to the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty, intellectual property rights in outer space are governed by the national law or law of the region concerned. This particular law is based on the principle that regulates space objects in a country from where they were launched into space. So if something happens to these objects concerning the IP infringement of these objects, this infringement would be treated as infringement that has taken place on earth. The country can apply its intellectual property law and deal with the issue.

CONCLUSION

Intellectual Property is important in almost every field, making different drugs in labs for medication, automobile engines, styles and logos in clothing industries, and even in huge projects related to space exploration. Intellectual Property is not confined to a particular sector or field, it has its roots in the biotechnology field, agriculture sector, and even in big space exploration rockets like Chandrayan 3.

Attention is needed in the field of preserving Intellectual Property when it comes to any space exploration or any other invention that has intelligence and sweat behind its genesis.

Protection of IP despite the challenges in outer space is needed and is important for discovering new beneficial outcomes necessary for human evolution. Chandrayan 3’s successful completion is an example of how, on a cost-effective budget, India has outstripped other space industries in moon exploration; therefore, its techniques should be protected, and hence intellectual protection is the most effective way.

Author: Danish Husain, a student at Presidency University, Bangalore, in case of any queries please contact/write back to us via email to [email protected] or at IIPRD.

3. REFERENCES

https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html

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Space Law Protection the New Focus of IPR

https://www.nti.org/education-center/treaties-and-regimes/treaty-principles-governing-activities-states-exploration-and-use-outer-space-including-moon-and-other-celestial-bodies-outer-space-treaty/

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https://www.drishtiias.com/blog/space-law-and-the-future-of-space-exploration