As commercial space ventures gain traction, trademark experts are exploring how intellectual property systems might adapt to activity beyond Earth. International Trademark Association President Elisabeth Stewart Bradley told MLex that brands are already leveraging space-related partnerships for publicity and innovation, raising questions about IP protection in orbit. The association is considering the possibility of rethinking existing systems to include extraterrestrial activity.
As space travel and tourism make headlines, brands may be keen to take part in the hype. That means, filing intellectual property related to new products and services that relate to space. For Elisabeth Stewart Bradley, president of the International Trademark Association, or INTA, one key question is whether the current trademark system is up to the task.
“How would IP be cleared and protected, and who would own the registries?” she asked in an interview with MLex, referring to trademarked items that might be used when it comes to IP related to space.
Whether it's Jeff Bezos-funded Blue Origin’s controversial 11-minute, all-women trip to space, or the anticipated film with "Mission Impossible" star Tom Cruise on-board the International Space Station, or Elon Musk’s SpaceX launches ultimately reaching for life on Mars — space is back in the limelight.
— Brands in space —
“Clearly we're continuing to see more investment in space,” said Bradley. She added that following Russia’s war in Ukraine, interest in space exploration saw a slump. But now, it may be coming back: “It's just going to become a bigger issue in the future.”
“I think brand owners in this area are always looking for the next big, exciting thing,” she said, adding that brands could use the excitement surrounding space to create a buzz as a public relations campaign.
This kind of campaign may be especially relevant for hotels or food and beverage industries, Bradley said.
For example, space and security body Voyager named Hilton as the official hotel partner for its private Starlab space station three years ago, tasking the hospitality giant with designing crew lodging and suites.
Or more recently, PepsiCo’s Doritos created a “Zero Gravity Flavored Tortilla Chip” in partnership with Polaris Dawn — a private spaceflight mission led by SpaceX — to raise funds for a children’s research hospital.
Then there’s Columbia Sportswear, which teamed up with space company Intuitive Machines to help protect a lunar landing craft from extreme temperatures, using the same heat-reflective material found in its jackets.
— Trademarks for space —
INTA has previously laid out suggestions for an IP legal system to govern commercial activity in outer space, as space-based ventures become increasingly viable and popular.
In a December 2022 white paper, INTA suggested creating a new “Outer Space IP Office.” Longer-term solutions would be the creation of a dedicated IP treaty for space and the establishment of local IP registries and enforcement bodies for settlements on the moon or on Mars, according to the white paper.
But in the short-term, the association considers expanding the Madrid Protocol — a treaty that allows trademark holders to register their marks in multiple countries through a single application — to cover “Outer Space” as a designated jurisdiction.
“Currently a lot of the treaties don't really contemplate space,” Bradley said.
Trademark experts are concerned that the existing IP systems may not be equipped to handle the emerging reality of commercial activity in space.
As ventures such as space tourism, orbiting space hotels and lunar or Martian manufacturing become more viable, current laws do not provide clear answers on how to register, protect, or enforce trademarks and other IP rights beyond Earth.
For one, there may be jurisdictional gaps as there is no agreed-upon IP registry or enforcement mechanism for outer space. This raises questions about who has authority over trademarks used in space.
That may lead to legal uncertainty over commercial IP use for trademark owners which lack clarity on how their rights extend into space.
Existing systems for trademark classification, such as the Nice Classification system used globally, may not adequately describe new types of space-related goods and services — for example, zero-gravity food products or orbital entertainment services.
The Nice Classification, established in 1957, is still regularly tweaked to fit changing times.
— Virtual products —
New technological innovations are likely to end up in the trademark classification box of Class 9, which covers products used for scientific or research purposes, including computer and audiovisual technology and safety equipment.
Trademark experts are cognizant of technological growth outpacing existing legal structures.
“It's the same debate that's being had around virtual products,” Bradley said. “We have seen how Class 9 has had to evolve.”
INTA’s chief policy officer, Heather Steinmeyer, has also considered this issue.
Class 9 is “now swollen to encompass a lot of virtual products, and so it's a very complex class,” Steinmeyer told MLex. “Should it be split, for example?”
But that hasn't happened, for now.
At its 2023 session, the Nice Union Committee of Experts formally adopted new terms to clarify that products related to the metaverse and virtual environments fall under Class 9, to include advancements such as non-fungible tokens.
While the World Intellectual Property Organization conducted a follow-up survey with member states on the evolution of Class 9 — which will be presented in the next committee meeting in Geneva next week — no support emerged for splitting the class.
Ultimately such changes would need be decided by member states at the WIPO Committee of Experts.
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