Intellectual property rights - New regime in ESA contracts

The ESA Convention contains the principles according to which the Agency enters into contracts. Article III of the Convention deals with information and data; in Paragraph 3 it states that when placing contracts ... the Agency shall, with regard to the resulting inventions and technical data, secure such rights as may be appropriate for the protection of its interests, those of the Member States participating in the relevant programme, and those of persons and bodies under their jurisdiction. These rights shall include in particular the rights of access, of disclosure, and of use. These principles were applied under the previous contract conditions (ESA/C/290, rev. 5) by the Agency agreeing that the contractor could own intellectual property rights in works developed under a contract with the Agency, but that - when required - a licence was to be granted free-of-charge to Member States and persons and bodies under their jurisdiction for their own requirements in the field of space research and technology and their space applications. The free licensing of intellectual property, which is not legally required by Article III.3 of the Convention, was aimed at encouraging the development of European space industry. This article discusses the rationale behind the new Part II of the General Clauses and Conditions, which deals specifically with intellectual property rights (ESA/C/290, rev. 6).