Abstract

Earth Observation (EO) data products are the result of significant financial investments, resources and time, as well as the outcome of complex activities operated by a plethora of actors that follow different interests. The high “cost factor” of establishing and maintaining a space remote sensing system has led satellite operators to distribute data on a commercial basis, becoming a profitable industry. Private data owners aim to safeguard their profit interests implementing different kinds of “protection” on data products by putting a higher burden of cost on the users. Primary areas of investigation regarding the protection of generated data are data access policies, the articulate terms and conditions as well as restrictions of supply and use of data under which the operator is licensed, and the applicable Intellectual Property (IP) law regime. In the European context of copyright law, a step further is accomplished through the sui generis right for database (Database Directive 96/9/EC). The inconsistencies among the different practices of EO data generators concerning access policy and the applicable legal frameworks of IP rights leads to a lack of uniformity, a high level of vagueness and affect the legal interoperability of data. As a result of the fast-moving changes in the EO data supply sector, a comprehensive legal framework is highly requested. This paper will address the priorities which should be undertaken in its delineation. Among those, the rationalization of data access and the choice of open data access for applications beneficial to the society (e.g., climate protection) will be used as guiding principles.