UK government prioritise innovation and sustainability in regulatory review

Andrew Griffith, the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation, gives a strong quote on the UK government's newly released Space Regulatory Review 2024.

I read further into the review with some trepidation. What is the focus? What will this mean for innovation in the space industry? What will this mean for intellectual property in the space industry?

Well, on first appearances, there is certainly a focus on innovation. And an even heavier focus on sustainability. Great!

But… the government does not yet appear to have considered the application of the UK laws that establish intellectual property rights to space going innovations. That is despite the Space Industrial Plan published in March stating that the regulatory review would address “novel activity regulation”. For me, this is disappointing.

Intellectual property law for space is certainly one area where we do not seem to be setting a global standard - with the USA already having written into law explicit provisions for space going innovations protected by intellectual property rights.

There is a risk that the continued lack of clarity or development in our intellectual property laws in this area may be detrimental to commercialisation (and maybe even innovation) in the space industry, with the space industry missing out on the many benefits that can be reaped by businesses operating in other industries from robust intellectual property strategies.

I hope that with the government's commitment to continued focus on the development of the space industry then some progress may be made in this area in the future. We at Marks & Clerk, and in particular those of us in the dedicated Space Technology team, will certainly be keeping an eager eye on this.