Outer Space: Time to Address the Real-World IP Issues

Carlton Fields intellectual property attorneys Clark Lackert and Johnathan Goodwill authored an article in the American Bar Association’s Landslide® Extra article exploring the inadequacy of IP ownership and enforcement mechanisms in outer space, and outlining options to move forward.

“As our world on planet Earth is quickly looking further into the Universe, now is the time to have a serious discussion on how to create and implement an off-world IP infrastructure. A legal infrastructure will protect both consumers and owners as it preserves the principle of harnessing and protecting space for posterity. All nations, organizations, and corporations stand to benefit from balanced, well-organized mechanisms for the protection and enforcement of IP in outer space. Space should be a safe investment zone to enhance, not to hamper, humankind’s exhilarating journey off its home world into the stars,” suggest Lackert and Goodwill.

Read the article.

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