CYIL Vol. 4, 2013

JAN ONDŘEJ CYIL 4 ȍ2013Ȏ zdroje získané při těžbě z nebeských těles, c) také výsledky činnosti v oblasti dušev- ního vlastnictví. Key words: sovereignty, ownership, outer space, private persons On the Author: Doc. JUDr. Jan Ondřej, CSc., DSc., is an Associate Professor (Docent) of International Law at the Charles University Law School in Prague, and the Vice-Rector and the Head of the Department of Law and Security at the Private University College of Economics Studies, Ltd. in Prague. Mr. Ondřej is the author of a textbook of International Public, Private and Trade Law (2012) and of many publications on international spaces (space law, law of the sea, Antarctica) e.g. publication The Law of International Spaces (2004), disarmament and international security, e.g. publication Disarmament – Means of Ensuring the International Security (2008). He also co-authored the publication International Humanitarian Law (2010). Introduction The launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, on 4 October 1957, marks the beginning of Outer Space exploration. The successful launch has no doubt influenced the development of civilian activities in Space. The topic of Outer Space, which was until then a purely military domain, began to be transferred at the end of the 50s in many states into the civilian sector. In 1958, space programs in the USA were transferred from the Department of Defense to the newly established civilian agency NASA. Some development can be traced in the exploration of Outer Space. In the first years, it was the search for scientific information and data. This information was spread around the world basically without any restrictions. In the 60s some industrial corporations realized that Outer Space could be used for commercial purposes. The need to protect information therefore increased. At the beginning of the 70s the activities carried out on the Moon and also communication satellites steadily modified the objectives of the activities in Space. Economic interests slowly but increasingly overtook scientific interest. 1 Commercial activities in the form of communication satellites started to develop – INTELSAT was launched in 1971, INMARSAT in 1976. Further development in the 80s of the 20 century is connected with further activity in the form of remote sensing of the Earth, and also the first space stations were being built in orbits around the Earth. Space is used for industrial applications. For example, the French corporation ARIANSPACE took over the construction of expendable launch vehicles (ELVs) from the European Space Agency (ESA). 2 Currently, the most significant activity carried out in Space is the building

1 See Oosterlinck, R. Intellectual Property and Space Activities . 25th Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, Paris, 1984, p. 161. 2 ibid.