The paper provides an overview on recent legal issues in Earth Observation data and services resulting from changes in technologies and markets, which at least some qualify as disruptive. The developments bring some well-known legal issues in Earth Observation into new perspectives. In addition, many typical legal issues in the IT and E-commerce sectors become now directly relevant in Earth Observation.
The market for Earth Observation data and services is changing dramatically. Around the world, government agencies and commercial companies are investing in new Earth Observation satellites, sometimes including large constellations of small satellites. The rise of Earth Observation satellites goes along with a massive increase in available data. Overall, the Earth Observation market is showing positive developments, with average yearly growth rates of 10% or more. Earth Observation data and services are now increasingly provided via the internet, through online platforms with typical ecommerce type elements. Cloud computing services are used to handle the massive data volumes to be accessed via such platforms. Generally, we see a slow shift from the traditional data provision approach based on data licenses to more comprehensive services based on contracts and related Service Level Agreements (SLA). From the legal perspective, the above-described technology and market developments do not raise previously unknown issues. Commercial E-commerce platforms and Cloud Computing services have been introduced since several years and the legal issues related to them have been tackled by legislation, codes of conduct and business practice. However, the transposition to and use within the Earth Observation sector raises challenges for institutional and commercial stakeholders. In addition, some well-known legal issues in Earth Observation come into new perspectives. This includes data policies, copyright, data licensing, personal data protection, standardization and interoperability, as well as warranty and liability for Earth Observation data and services. The paper provides an overview from a European perspective.

In today’s technologically dependent society an average person interacts 36x per day with satellite through diverse applications (e.g. to note just one example - 3/4 of the data used in weather prediction models depend on satellite data). Because of this wide use of satellites, nowadays 80+ countries currently operate at least one satellite in space (latest countries to reach space were Ghana, Mongolia, Bangladesh and Angola). Especially for states that are less economically and technologically developed, space systems are particularly useful and necessary in order to achieve “frog leaping” and decrease the economic and social inequalities between developing and developed states. Involvement in space activities gives them the opportunity to utilize state of the art technology and solve local issues (e.g. environmental, e-health, e-medicine, transportation). Taking a closer look at the satellite data and imagery, it can be observed that the users are mainly public sector clients, such as military institutions for security uses as well as environmental and agricultural authorities. Hence, in the first line it is important to examine which legal framework is governing the access to satellite data and if public sector clients from the developing countries have the same guaranteed rights under international law as the developed nations. This paper will offer in its first part an overview of existing international norms regulating access to satellite data, focusing on relevant provisions in the corpus iuris spatialis. In the second part it will compare these legal rights with the praxis, i.e. determining what are actual possibilities to exercise these rights, if a state is not involved in space activities and has never been a member of space community like in the case of Republic of Serbia. In the third and final part, the paper will zoom in on the EU flagship programs - Copernicus and Galileo - and ESA’s data access policies in regards to states that are neither EU nor ESA member states, but are striving for full European integration, as Serbia.

1. The main question of my research is “who will possess the intellectual property rights of remote sensing images, obtained from observation satellites, analyzed through big data analysis conducted by A.I.”
   In consideration of this theme, I am aiming to organize the following controversial points which may arise from the sale of satellite data:

   1. Intellectual property rights attributed to raw data;

   2. Copyright of the results of A.I. data analysis; and

   3. Rights (copyright and patent rights) of the firms that create the algorithms.

2. To further examine this issue, I begin by discussing two topics from intellectual property law and international space law perspective:

   1. Points of contention regarding the attribution of copyright for satellite data extracted from observation satellites; and

   2. The idea of “the denial of preferential access right for the remote sensing data of surveyee’s countries” which was provided in the 1986 Remote Sensing Principles.

3. In addition to the above, I aim to highlight areas that may be problematic in this new era for the space industry, as well as notable points for business players, by superimposing data analytic methodology with a discussion of the rights of A.I. deliverables. The aim of this paper is to integrate a space law issue (rights of remote sensing images) with an intellectual property law issue (with an emphasis on traditional issues as well as A.I. rights).

4. To conclude, I will highlight certain opinions from a legislative perspective and emphasize the importance of critical importance of strategic contractual coverage of these issues.

The basic principles of space law such as the freedom of use of outer space and the UN Remote Sensing Principles, grants the freedom of remote sensing activities from outer space, and although many technological difficulties exist, as a result of continuous endeavor in R&D, the possible civil and private use of satellite remote sensing data to solve various issues is increasing in various fields such as disaster management, global environment issues, and is expected to further increase.
The expansion of the use of Satellite Remote Sensing Data by current and new users is welcomed, however not all data could be with no restrictions. As a solution to this matter, on November 15th, 2017, the Remote Sensing Data Act came into full effect in Japan. The Act was established based on the fact that the use of satellite remote sensing data by private actors have increased, rules are necessary to prevent wrongful use, and a legal system is necessary to promote the new industry and services that use satellite remote sensing data. It is similar to the legislation related to remote sensing in many other countries that have high resolution satellites such as the U.S., Canada, France and Germany.
The Act mainly sets an authorization regime for use of satellite remote sensing instruments, and a Certificate for the use of satellite remote sensing data, in order to ensure appropriate handling of remote sensing data. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is subject to these authorization and certificates. JAXA has worked closely with the Cabinet Office on the application, and now gains two authorization of the satellites, including the first Authorization based on this law.
This paper introduces the legal system in brief, and how JAXA responds to the authorization scheme. Furthermore, describes the impacts of the law on the practical use of data, and suggestions for future improvements.

This paper analyzes, on the one hand, the legitimate expectations and needs of the industries in terms of intellectual property protection for outer space research, as they need to be protected against violations and be free to grant exploitation licenses. On the other hand, it investigates if the use and exploitation of outer space and celestial bodies is carried out for the benefit and in the interest of all countries.
The key issue of the protection of inventions in accordance with national and international regulations will also be addressed in the paper.
The paper will start from a combined analysis of art. 5 of the IGA, establishing that each Partner shall retain jurisdiction and control over the elements it registers, and art. 21 of the IGA, which regulates intellectual property based on the quasi-territorial principle, and sets out that the regulations of the State in whose registered modules the invention occurs shall apply. The paper aims to examine national intellectual property protection regulations, highlighting possible conflicts of applicable national laws with respect to the place where the invention occurs and inventor nationality, but also regarding the recognition of the different patent systems adopted by ISS Partner States. European Partner States enjoy a privileged position, as set forth by paragraph 2 of art. 21 of the IGA.
As the unique environment of the ISS calls for quick recognition of intellectual property licenses obtained in other Partner States, the paper will analyze the different Partners’ national legislation, existing International Conventions on the matter, such as the TRIPS Agreement, and European patent regulations, which streamline procedures and introduce stringent minimum protection standards in all the areas of intellectual property.

The present work refers to the challenge of understanding the emerging contractual paradigm referred to satellite imagery and data online commerce. Issues like the role of consent in new online contract forms will be analyzed. In this regard, the formation of online contracts requires the existence of consent given by the parties to the contract. The formation of contracts known as “click-wrap”, “browse-wrap” and “shrink-wrap” agreements constitute a new paradigm in the tradition of online commerce related to satellite imagery and data. The author highlights other legal challenges encountered during his research and practice such as the Intellectual Property Paradigm regarding Geospatial imagery and data commercial transactions. Moreover, Value Added Data and the Exhaustion of Rights Principle of the rights deserve also some close attention and must be added to the present study.