Construction of Intellectual Property Protection Mechanism of China-Africa Space Trade

The continuous advancement of the "Belt and Road" initiative in Africa and the extension of the "Belt and Road" space information corridor to Africa have provided an important opportunity for the further development of China-Africa space trade. China-Africa space trade has developed from a one-way trade to a co-construction and joint research trade stage. Patent authorization and licensing in technology transfer and the complexity of ownership relations brought about by the participation of multiple entities in space trade have made it urgently needed to develop a sound system of intellectual property protection. The European and American patent blockades against China and African countries in the space sector have made it the only way to strengthen China-Africa bilateral direct cooperation and build a space trade intellectual property protection mechanism that applies to both China and Africa. On the basis of existing space-related intellectual property legislation in China and African countries, we should improve the special regulations for the protection of space intellectual property rights, protect the intellectual property rights of private entities in the space trade, and clarify the scope and conditions for the exercise of state intervention rights. At the same time, we should directly regulate the protection of intellectual property rights in space trade in bilateral trade agreements, strengthen open multilateral negotiations with members of the African regional intellectual property organization under the framework of regional intellectual property organizations, and use the advantages of regional integration of intellectual property organizations to build the multilateral mechanism for space intellectual property protection.