“Space is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity.” These powerful words from Dr. Tidiane Ouattara, President of the Council of the African Space Agency (AfSA), set the tone for Africa’s commitment to space exploration as affirmed during the Salon International de l’Intelligence Artificielle, de la Défense et de l’Espace (SIADE) on February 20, 2025. The official inauguration of the African Space Agency on April 20, 2025, in Cairo, Egypt, marks a monumental step forward, highlighting the growing importance of space to African countries.
With substantial investments in space enterprises across various industry sectors, Africa's engagement in space activities has increased. As of 2021, the African space industry was valued at USD 19.49 billion, with estimations suggesting a growth to USD 22.64 billion by 2026, representing a growth rate of 16.16%.
A total of 63 satellites have been launched by 17 African countries, with Djibouti becoming the latest African country to join the space race, launching DJIBOUTI-1B on December 21, 2024. Ten of these satellites were launched by commercial entities, the continent now home to 270 NewSpace companies.
To sustain and enhance this momentum, Dr. Ouattara emphasizes that African countries should concentrate on three essential cornerstones, all deeply connected to Intellectual Property (IP): the development of space technologies, the implementation of a strong structural framework, and the emergence of NewSpace and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The development of space technologies is intimately linked with IP, as robust IP frameworks provide the necessary incentives for innovation, protect valuable investments, and ensure competitive advantages for both the NewSpace companies and the countries entering the space sector. Robust IP frameworks incentivize innovation by protecting significant investments and ensuring competitive advantages. Here's an in-depth look at how IP is crucial to the development of space technology:
1. Patents Drive Space Technology Innovation
Space technology development is characterized by high Research and Development (R&D) costs. This sector requires considerable investments from both private and public sectors, necessitating effective legal protection against unauthorized use or duplication. IP, particularly patents, plays an essential role in this domain, providing the confidence to invest heavily in research and development.
The European Space Agency (ESA) exemplifies the importance of patents by filing nearly 20 space-related patents annually. These patents empower European entities to commercialize their innovations better, promoting a vibrant environment for space technology development across the continent.
For African countries, modernizing patent processes, particularly those related to space technologies, is imperative. This includes adopting modern IP legislation to meet the evolving challenges of the Space era. Additionally, Patent and Trademark Offices must enhance their technical expertise, infrastructure, and examination frameworks to be able to evaluate complex innovations in space technologies. This means investing in specialized training for examiners, adopting advanced digital tools for prior art searches, and fostering collaboration with experts and research institutions.
With effective patent protection, African space startups can attract investors, safeguard their innovations, and increase their influence in the global space sector.
2. Copyrights and Artificial Intelligence in Space Technology
Besides Patents, Copyrights are also crucial for fostering innovation in space technology due to the growing role of software in inventions.
Specialized IP frameworks that address the unique challenges of AI are essential. AI technologies often blur ownership lines, creating ambiguity regarding rights to AI-generated inventions. As these technologies emerge, it is crucial to develop IP laws that adapt to and encompass these novelties, providing clarity and protection for creators and investors alike. Without such protections, African startups risk losing innovative advantages and potential market share to more established, well-protected competitors.
An illustrative scenario involves AI-generated satellite mapping software utilized for agricultural monitoring in Nigeria. Determining IP ownership becomes complex: Does the AI owner, software developer, or satellite operator hold rights to the software? Resolving such questions necessitates clearly defined IP laws outlining ownership rights in AI-generated technologies, ensuring innovators and stakeholders receive due credit and benefits.
3. IP Enables Technology Transfer & International Collaboration
IP is central in facilitating technology transfer and international collaboration. Licensing agreements and IP-sharing frameworks allow African countries to access and share advanced technologies and expertise from and with established space agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ESA.
These agreements include open-source licenses. NASA, for example, where one-third inventions are software programs, often makes software available as open source due to copyright limitations. Therefore, IP legislation, or related legal frameworks, in African countries, must integrate the concept of open source and ensure familiarity with it. This approach will help accommodate the growing importance of open source in technological innovation and facilitate smoother collaboration.
4. Enforcing IP Rights in Space: A Global Challenge
To these challenges, an additional issue arises from the lack of jurisdictional clarity and the multinational nature of space activities: the enforcement of IP rights in space.
Space activities exist beyond the territorial confines of any single country, complicating the enforcement of IP rights. This scenario, aggravated with the rise of space tourism and the development of space transportation technologies, highlights the need for IP protection beyond patents and copyrights.
The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 establishes that jurisdiction over a space object lies with the country that registers it. While this provides a basic framework, it does not sufficiently address the nuances of IP rights in the evolving landscape of space innovation. This lacuna has not been addressed by subsequent treaties, such as the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (1972) and the International Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (1998), although the latter refers to IP protection.
Therefore, it is crucial to achieve harmonization under international regimes such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization to ensure consistent protection and prevent the undermining of global space efforts
For African nations, crafting harmonized IP laws and establishing regional enforcement mechanisms are crucial steps. By aligning IP protection strategies across borders, African countries, under the guidance of the African Space Agency, can create a unified front supporting and defending contributions in international collaborations. A regional approach facilitates the sharing of resources and expertise, supporting African entities in navigating global IP enforcement intricacies in space.
Addressing these challenges requires African nations to advocate for global space IP regulations specifically protecting and enforcing IP rights beyond Earth's boundaries.
Conclusion: Why IP is Crucial for Africa’s Space Technology Development
The progress of Africa's space industry presents both considerable opportunities and complex challenges, IP protection sitting at the heart of this dynamic landscape.
Strengthening IP frameworks across African countries is essential to support the promising space industry. This effort requires commitment at the national level, along with a coordinated regional approach.
Insights from a recent Seminar on International Space Law in Africa, hosted at the University of Leicester, further underscore this necessity. Mustapha Iderawumi, a senior analyst at Space in Africa, emphasized the importance of establishing a minimum level of legislation, inspired by successful models from around the world. At the same time, Arnold Agaba from the Institute of Air and Space Law highlighted the need to develop personalized legislation that fits specific African contexts and evolves incrementally to meet the continent's unique needs, instead of directly transplanting existing laws.
Addressing these IP challenges is crucial, as only by doing so will Africa be able to engage meaningfully in international collaborations, driving technological advancements that benefit both the continent and the world.