Space Products and Space-Made Products – Different Views on Space Manufacturing in Space and Patent Law

Article
Open Access
by Kamil Muzyka1
1 Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw, Poland)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29202/asl/11/5
Received: 20 March 2023 / Accepted: 8 April 2023 / Published: 25 June 2023

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Abstract

In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) is a form of space activity that assumes the possibility of manufacturing, processing, and assembling products that use one or both of the following key elements: a) extraterrestrial raw materials as the basis for their production in part or in whole: b) natural phenomena and conditions occurring in extraterrestrial environments, such as microgravity, extreme temperatures or higher vacuum levels. This does not preclude the use of ISM terminology for production that does not use either raw materials or extraterrestrial conditions, but is production that occurs on board or with the use of a space object. For this reason, space production will come into contact with activities such as space mining or the use of space resources in-situ (ISRU), On-Orbit Servicing (OOS), or active disposal of space debris (Active Debris Removal, ADR), and over time will be intertwined with other activities in space. The subject matter of this paper is the term „space product”. This term is most often used, apart from legal terminology, for products based on research carried out in space, adapted for their possible introduction into economic circulation (such as fiber optics, cultured organs, metal alloys, ready-made parts and construction elements for satellites and surface stations). Legal considerations regarding the space product focus on two basic issues – first, the applicability of patent protection on board the facilities where production would take place; secondly, the legal status of a space product that would be located outside the manufacturing or assembly facility. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to seek an answer to the question – to what extent do the products of space production coincide with the space products proposed in the literature? What are the consequences of treating them as separate institutions in space law like patent law? What is a possible solution to such a problem?

Keywords: space manufacturing, space product, space object, space resources, patent law.

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Muzyka, Kamil (2023) Space Products and Space-Made Products – Different Views on Space Manufacturing in Space and Patent Law. Advanced Space Law, Volume 11, 50-59. https://doi.org/10.29202/asl/11/5
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