15/04/2025
As we mark International Day of Human Space Flight, commemorating Yuri Gagarin’s historic journey into orbit on April 12, 1961, it’s not just the stars that capture our imagination — it’s the legal and technological framework that ensures we can explore them sustainably, innovatively, and fairly.
This year, the conversation feels especially relevant. Just yesterday, pop icon Katy Perry became the latest high-profile civilian to take flight into suborbital space aboard a commercial capsule (a Blue Origin Rocket) — a dazzling reminder that the era of space tourism is no longer a futuristic fantasy. Her journey, broadcast to millions, didn’t just showcase humanity’s evolving reach into the cosmos — it underscored how much innovation, investment, and legal groundwork now underpins even the briefest moment beyond the stratosphere.
With the global space economy projected to skyrocket to $1.8 trillion in value within the next decade, the governance of intellectual property (IP) in orbit is not a theoretical issue — it’s a commercial imperative.
A Patent Boom in the Final Frontier
The WIPO Technology Trends 2024 Report, reviewed in a previous article, highlights a surge in patent filings related to space transportation. Over 9000 patent families[1] have been published between 2000 and 2023, a trend driven particularly by China and the United States. Propulsion systems, re-entry technologies, and satellite launch mechanisms dominate filings, reflecting how terrestrial rivalries are now expressed in orbital innovation races.
This explosion of filings is more than academic. As Andy Attfield and Nick Reeve of Reddie & Grose emphasised in their recent Webinar: Protecting Inventions Beyond Earth’s Borders: Space Law and IP, patents are increasingly vital for protecting investments, sustaining technological advantages, and enabling licensing or collaboration in an increasingly privatised and competitive sector.
Jurisdiction in Orbit: A Legal Jigsaw Puzzle
Yet enforcing those patents in space is a matter of legal complexity in itself. International law — particularly the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 — declares that no nation may claim sovereignty over outer space or celestial bodies. However, the same treaty affirms that a launching state retains jurisdiction and control over its registered objects in space (Article VIII).
In practice, this means that if an invention is used aboard a U.S.-registered satellite, it could potentially infringe a U.S. patent, even in orbit — thanks to 35 USC §105, which extends U.S. patent law to objects under U.S. jurisdiction in space.
Flags of Convenience — in Space?
But what if countries start using regulatory loopholes to their advantage?
Our previous article, Outer Space, the High Seas and the Flags of Convenience Problem, drew a compelling parallel to maritime law’s long-standing “flags of convenience” issue. In shipping, vessels are often registered in nations with reduced regulations. In space, we may see similar behaviour with spacecraft registered in states with preferred IP legal frameworks.
This may create tension with the Outer Space Treaty’s ethos of equitable and peaceful space exploration.
Toward a Unified Orbit
The recurring theme is clear: legal infrastructure is racing to keep up with the rocket ships.
As we celebrate the past and future of human space flight, we must also reckon with the fact that technological leadership in space will hinge not just on innovation, but also on legal foresight.
A future where patents can be confidently enforced in space requires creativity not only from engineers but from legislators. The existing patchwork of international treaties, national laws, and private agreements must evolve — or risk being outpaced by technological advancement.
Even headline-grabbing events like Katy Perry’s recent commercial spaceflight are more than just cultural milestones — they spotlight the increasing complexity of protecting innovation in orbit. Every capsule launch, orbital manoeuvre, or satellite link-up reflects not just engineering brilliance, but a web of IP rights, licensing strategies, and jurisdictional questions that must be addressed if space is to remain a frontier of fair, collaborative progress.
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
[1] WIPO (2025). WIPO Technology Trends Report 2025: The Future of Transportation. Geneva: World Intellectual Property Organization. (Page 92-93)
