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Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Keywords

China space station, intellectual property protection, fictional territoriality, space governance, institutional competition

Abstract

As China’s space station transitions into its application and development phase, on-orbit research outputs are entering a period of concentrated yield. The protection of space station intellectual property (IP) has evolved from a theoretical proposition into a pressing institutional demand. For decades, developed economies, notably the United States and European nations, have dominated the development of international space IP rules. Their core approach extends the traditional principle of territoriality through “legal fiction”, establishing jurisdiction based on the “State of registry’s jurisdiction”—that is, treating space objects as extensions of the registering State’s territory, thereby extending the reach of domestic IP law into outer space. In contrast, China’s space station IP framework remains inadequate in terms of legal application, rights attribution, and international cooperation mechanisms, failing to effectively support on-orbit research activities and the translation of scientific achievements. Grounded in national strategic imperatives, this study explores a governance framework anchored in “security-controlled bottom lines, open-sharing orientation, and efficiency-driven transformation”. Addressing key dimensions including domestic legal alignment, international cooperation mechanisms, scientific data property rights, and achievement commercialization, this study delineates pathways for strengthening China’s space station IP protection.

First page

1441

Last Page

1453

Language

Chinese

Publisher

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences

References

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