Weather forecasting, global communications, climate studies, air traffic control… where would we be today without space and satellite technology? This multi-billion-euro industry is much more than the backbone of modern digital life: communications satellites connect us to each other, while Earth observation connects us to our planet.
In a competitive global market, innovation is more important than ever to keep Europe at the forefront. Patents are vital to this – ensuring R&D investments are rewarded, giving incentives for future research. The EPO’s Espacenet database is full of published space-related European patent applications – with more than 3200 related to sat nav technologies alone.
The economy is a big beneficiary of new innovations, products and services evolving from space R&D. Space has a crucial role for the economy and society, including the environment, combating climate change, public and civil security, humanitarian and development aid, transport and the information society. The UK estimates that its space economy supports more than 80 000 employees, while the EU predicts its EO programme alone will create 50 000 new jobs.
We can see this in our own lives, where satellite navigation (GPS in our cars and smartphones), Earth observation (think of Google Maps), and space spin-offs (such as high-tech fabrics and new medical technologies) have become mainstream. As the following three films about Eomap, Giaura and Kinexon show, innovative companies need patents to protect their ideas. Without this protection, businesses that invest in expensive development work to advance the technologies that improve our lives could be undercut by competitors.
When space technology falls to Earth it has a positive impact on competitiveness, growth and job creation – as well as enriching our lives with new, useful services and products – and patents are instrumental to space tech making its way from ‘pie in the sky’ to the phone in your hand.
