Title 35 — PatentsRelease 119-73
§105 Inventions in outer space
Title 35 › Part PART II— - PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS AND GRANT OF PATENTS › Chapter CHAPTER 10— - PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS › § 105
Summary
Treat inventions made, used, or sold in space on objects under U.S. control as if they happened in the U.S. for the purposes of this title. It does not apply to objects that a U.S. international agreement specifically covers or that are on a foreign registry under the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space. If an object is on a foreign registry, it counts as in the U.S. only if the U.S. and that country agree.
Full Legal Text
Title 35, §105
Patents — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Any invention made, used or sold in outer space on a space object or component thereof under the jurisdiction or control of the United States shall be considered to be made, used or sold within the United States for the purposes of this title, except with respect to any space object or component thereof that is specifically identified and otherwise provided for by an international agreement to which the United States is a party, or with respect to any space object or component thereof that is carried on the registry of a foreign state in accordance with the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
(b)Any invention made, used or sold in outer space on a space object or component thereof that is carried on the registry of a foreign state in accordance with the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space, shall be considered to be made, used or sold within the United States for the purposes of this title if specifically so agreed in an international agreement between the United States and the state of registry.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Special Rules Pub. L. 101–580, § 2, Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 2863, provided that: “(a)
Effective Date
.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, the
Amendments
made by the first section of this Act [enacting this section] shall apply to all United States patents granted before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 15, 1990], and to all applications for United States patents pending on or filed on or after such date of enactment. “(b) Final Decisions.—The
Amendments
made by the first section of this Act [enacting this section] shall not affect any final decision made by a court or the Patent and Trademark Office before the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 15, 1990] with respect to a patent or an application for a patent, if no appeal from such decision is pending and the time for filing an appeal has expired. “(c) Pending Cases.—The
Amendments
made by the first section of this Act [enacting this section] shall not affect the right of any party in any case pending in a court on the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 15, 1990] to have the party’s rights determined on the basis of the substantive law in effect before such date of enactment. “(d) Non-Applicability.—The
Amendments
made by the first section of this Act [enacting this section] shall not apply to any process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, an embodiment of which was launched prior to the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 15, 1990].”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
35 U.S.C. § 105
Title 35 — Patents
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73