Marie Weisfeiler
The potential for private technological expansion into space raises questions of how to protect intellectual property rights of inventions that are both brought into space and made in space. While there are international treaties governing space law, none of these treaties discuss how to designate or enforce patent rights in space. The International Space Station has implemented a solution of quasi-territoriality to establish patent rights. This essay suggests, however, that this solution will be deficient when private entities venture further into space exploration. This essay then explores the possibility of a universal approach to patent law in space through two proposed solutions for the creation and enforcement of a universal space patent law, arguing that the best approach may be a combination of the two solutions.