Lecote Technology Lawyers are exhibiting and providing legal advice workshops at the UK Space Conference 2017 between 30 May and 1 June 2017. This year held in Manchester the Space Conference is the leading national forum to discuss the changing political, economic and technological landscape impacting the UK space industry. Lecote will be advising on legal issues including flight software development and licencing; mission intellectual property rights; data licensing and security issues; Space tourism contracts and the implications of the Spaceflight Bill 2017. If you have a question you would like to email Lecote concerning the above or any other legal issues relating to New Space, just contact andrewsparrow@lecote.com.

The other side of the street –How the UK Space industry can benefit from the historic growth of Internet companiesA man searched under a streetlamp for his watch. Asked: ‘Did you drop it here?’ ‘No, way over on the other side of the street’ he replied.‘So why are you looking here if you know it’s over there? ‘Because this is where the light is’ came the answer.If the UK’s ambition of achieving 10% market share of the global Space sector is to be realised – the search for growth must be focussed on the other side of the street. I’m a Technology lawyer heavily involved with the commercial Internet for over 20 years, but crucially at the very outset of e-commerce and the advent of all commercial applications for the Internet. This minor, localised experience is why I want to draw parallels between the growth of the Space sector in the UK and the historic development of the Internet. The terms ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ are used in characterising the Space sector. I contend it is the ‘downstream’ companies that will render the UK Space industry the success it deserves to be.But those companies will be wholly new innovations – certainly not anything currently envisaged. In fact, they may hardly be labelled ‘downstream’ at all. They won’t necessarily be suppliers. Space will enable them. But Space won’t define them.That is the experience at every stage of the Internet’s career. It was...