In the framework of the Luxembourg law related to the exploration and utilisation of space resources, a conference entitled “Innovation, space technologies, and patents” took place on 8 October 2018 in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, at the premises of the Chamber of Commerce.
The event, was initiated by the Ministry of the Economy (Intellectual property office and the Directorate of Space Affairs) and organised by the European Patent Academy. Amongst the speakers were representatives from the recently launched Luxembourg Space Agency and the European Space Agency. The event addressde the following topics:
- inventions made in outer space, their down to Earth application and patent protection issues;
- societal and economic impact: space and climate change mitigation technologies, public and civil security, military defence, disaster management, humanitarian and development aid, urban planning, information society, efficiency and productivity gains, healthcare, weather forecasting, transport and air-traffic control, agriculture and natural resource management;
- business testimonials;
- patent applications and patents in relation to territorial inventions used in outer space;
- changes that could be required in IP policy and the legal framework in Europe in order to deal with the increased commercialisation of outer space activities;
- democratisation of access to space: transportation at an affordable price?
