By Bikash Kumar Lohia
How do I protect my orbital data centre technology?
Also asked as: How do I secure space technology? How do I secure my space data center invention? Can I patent an orbital data center? What IP strategy does a space compute startup need?
Don’t start with the satellite. Start with the business.
Who could copy your technology? Where will they build it? Where will they sell it? Who will pay you if they infringe? Your patent should be built around those answers.
In my 19+ years of patent drafting, one lesson has stayed with me: a patent is only as useful as the person it can reach.
So protect your orbital data centre in layers. Patent the engineering, not the idea. Claim what happens on Earth, and also claim the orbital system. File where your market and competitors are. Keep the know-how that nobody can see from outside as a trade secret.
This is no longer a future problem. SpaceX has asked the FCC for authority to run up to one million orbital data centre satellites. Your patent strategy should start too.
Can my patent stop someone using my technology on a satellite?
Also asked as: Does my patent work in space? Who do I sue if a competitor uses my invention in orbit? Can I enforce a patent against a satellite?
You don’t sue a satellite. You sue a person or a company.
And you must show that they did something your patent covers, in a place that patent law can reach. A patent is a national right. It does not float around the planet with your invention.
The US has gone further than most. Under 35 U.S.C. §105, activity on a space object under US jurisdiction or control is treated as happening in the US. But there is a catch: objects on another country’s registry are generally excluded.
So here is my blunt view. If your only claim is “a data centre in space”, you have a weak commercial position. The patent may be valid. It may still be very hard to enforce against the company that should be paying you.
Can a competitor avoid my patent by putting its server or satellite in another country?
Also asked as: What if the satellite is registered abroad? Is my patent infringed if only part of the system is in my country?
They can try. Whether it works depends on your claims and the country.
Look at BlackBerry. In NTP v. RIM, the relay was in Canada. The method claims failed. The system claims survived. Same invention, different result, because of how the claims were written.
Japan’s Supreme Court also refused to let a server abroad decide the matter in Dwango v. FC2, where the server was in the US and the users’ terminals were in Japan.
But these are server cases, not satellite cases. The US system-claim route is still untested in orbit. So don’t bet your company on one argument. Thus, we shall aim to draft claims of patents with more than one way in.
Which countries should I file my space tech patent in?
Also asked as: Will one patent protect my space technology worldwide? Should I file in India, the US, Europe, China or Japan?
File where the business happens on Earth, not where the satellite flies.
There is no single patent that covers the world. Follow the factories, gateways, customers and competitors. Here is how I would think about it, country by country:
| Jurisdiction | What to keep in mind | What to look for on Earth |
|---|---|---|
| United States | §105 has a specific space rule, but the object’s registry matters | Manufacturing, sales, ground control and US customers |
| Europe | Infringement of a European patent is handled nationally, or under the UPC rules where they apply | Acts in the countries where the patent has effect |
| India | Section 48 covers acts in India, and Section 3(k) makes the technical contribution important for software-based inventions | Indian gateways, terminals, manufacture and sale |
| China | Article 11 bars unauthorised exploitation for production or business purposes | Making, selling and importing equipment in China |
| Japan | Dwango shows that a server abroad does not always defeat a Japanese system claim | Terminals, their role and the effect in Japan |
The last column is my drafting advice, not the wording of any country’s law. And don’t assume the US space rule travels with you. MBHB reports that no other space-faring nation has a comparable provision.
How should my patent claims be written so I can enforce them?
Also asked as: What should I ask my patent attorney to claim? How do I draft claims for a satellite or space data center?
Write every independent claim with one question in mind: who infringes this, where, and by doing what?
If you can’t answer that, rewrite the claim. Don’t depend on one claim type. Build several doors, so that closing one doesn’t lock you out. This is how I would set it up:
| What to claim | Who it can reach | Example | My warning |
|---|---|---|---|
| The hardware | The maker, seller or importer | A compute payload with a defined radiator, sensor and controller | Claim the structure. Don’t write “in orbit” unless the invention truly needs it |
| The sale or supply | The vendor or supplier | A compute module sold with a specific shielding and power design | Getting ready for launch may not infringe by itself. Tie the claim to making, selling or supplying |
| The ground software | The operator running it | A scheduler that assigns jobs using thermal data and contact windows | Keep every method step with one actor. Remember that servers can move offshore |
| The gateway or terminal | The gateway operator, equipment maker or software supplier | A gateway that uplinks job segments and asks for a reschedule if a job is incomplete | Don’t write one claim that needs three independent companies to infringe it |
| The full system | Whoever controls and uses it | Satellites and ground control working together | Useful, but never alone. It may not exist until launch, and it can be harder to prove |
The examples above are illustrations, not ready-to-file claims. Your invention, the prior art and each country’s law will decide the final wording.
Which parts of a space system should I look at for my claims?
Also asked as: What is a gateway, ground station or user terminal? Which space-system components can infringe a patent?
Look at every part your competitor must build, sell or run. Your engineers already use these words. Your patent attorney should know which ones sit on Earth and which ones sit in orbit.
| Term | What it means | Where it sits | Why it matters for your patent |
|---|---|---|---|
| User terminal | The customer’s antenna and modem that talk to the satellite | Earth | Sold and used in the country, so it is often easy to identify |
| Ground terminal | A general term for ground equipment that communicates with a satellite | Earth | Define it in your specification, because companies use the term differently |
| Receiver | The part that receives and processes the signal | Earth or orbit | Say which receiver you mean. A terminal receiver and a satellite receiver can have different owners |
| Gateway | The ground site connecting the satellite network to the internet or a data centre | Earth | Physical, located and usually regulated, so it can be a strong enforcement point |
| Ground station or earth station | A ground site that sends signals to or receives signals from a satellite | Earth | Companies may use this name, “gateway” or “teleport”. Claim the function, not only the label |
| Modem | The electronics that convert data into a radio signal and back | Earth or orbit | Can be claimed as hardware and sold on its own |
| Mission or satellite control centre | The team and systems that operate the satellite | Earth | A possible place to show control from a country |
| TT&C | Telemetry, tracking and command: health data down, commands up | Earth and orbit | Commands sent from Earth can support a ground-side method claim |
| Orchestrator or scheduler | The software deciding which job runs on which satellite | Earth or orbit | Can be a strong software claim if it runs on the ground, but servers can move |
| Satellite bus | The main platform: structure, power, propulsion and control | Built on Earth, used in orbit | Infringement may be easier to show before launch |
| Payload | The equipment doing the mission work, such as the compute module | Built on Earth, used in orbit | Claim its structure so the maker or seller can be reached |
| Radiator | The surface that sends waste heat into space | Built on Earth, used in orbit | A real engineering problem, so it can support a technical claim |
| Inter-satellite link | A radio or laser connection between satellites | Orbit | Pair it with a claim to the ground planning or the payload hardware |
| Uplink and downlink | Data going from Earth to space, and from space to Earth | Between Earth and orbit | Claim what the ground side sends or receives, not the whole path |
Don’t fall in love with one word. If your claim says “gateway” and your competitor calls it a “landing station”, you will spend money arguing about words. Define your terms in the specification, describe what the equipment does, and give alternatives.
For a real reference point, SpaceX’s US 12,003,350 B1 has separate claims directed to a user-terminal modem, a method performed by a user terminal, and a satellite modem. That is the discipline I like: separate claims for separate parties.
How do I secure my satellite technology with a patent?
Also asked as: How do I patent a satellite? How do I protect satellite payload technology?
Claim the hardware and the way it works, not simply “a satellite in orbit”. Protect the satellite bus, payload, radiator, modem or controller as separate inventions where you can. Then a maker or seller can be reached before launch. Add a separate claim if the invention truly depends on operation in orbit.
How do I secure my ground terminal or user terminal technology?
Also asked as: Can I patent a satellite ground terminal? How do I protect my user terminal or receiver?
Claim the terminal on its own: the antenna, receiver, modem and the steps the terminal itself performs. Don’t require the satellite to do anything for the claim to be infringed. A terminal is sold to customers, so it can give you a clear target in each market.
How do I secure my gateway or ground station technology?
Also asked as: Can I patent a satellite gateway? How do I protect my earth station or ground segment invention?
Claim what the gateway receives, decides and sends, and do it from the gateway’s point of view. A gateway is a physical site, so it can be easier to locate. Use the country of the gateway in your filing plan, and don’t depend on one label. Describe gateway, ground station and earth station alternatives in your specification.
How would this work for a real space company?
Also asked as: How would SpaceX, Pixxel or Sarvam think about space patents? What should an Indian space startup patent?
Look at the public plans, and you will see why this matters now. The examples below are my illustrations based on public reports. They are not a description of any company’s actual patents or claims, and they don’t suggest that anyone infringes anything.
| Example | What is publicly reported | Where I would look on Earth |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | Its FCC notice describes up to one million orbital data centre satellites, with traffic reaching authorised earth stations through Starlink | Payload manufacture, earth stations, user terminals and customer-facing software |
| Starlink in India | SpaceX said in October 2026 that it had built 20 gateway sites in India and was awaiting authorisation to begin operations | Indian gateways, antennas and terminals are located in India, so an Indian patent claim on that equipment can have a clear territorial link |
| Pixxel and Sarvam | Pixxel will design, build, launch and operate the 200 kg-class Pathfinder satellite, while Sarvam provides the AI stack. Launch was targeted as early as Q4 2026 | Satellite manufacture in India, GPU payload design and the ground-side workflow that sends work up and brings results down |
| An Indian orbital startup | India’s space station programme is also moving, with its first module targeted for December 2028 | Component supply, integration and test sites, ground software and Indian customers |
The lesson is simple. Even the most ambitious orbital plan still touches Earth: factories, gateways, terminals, control centres and customers. Find those points early, and write claims that reach them.
What parts of my orbital data centre can I patent?
Also asked as: Can I patent the idea of computing in space? What space data center inventions are worth patenting?
Patent how you solved a hard engineering problem. Don’t try to patent the dream.
“Computing in space” is an idea. These are inventions you can actually describe and test:
- How your payload moves heat from the accelerator to the radiator during a heavy job
- How your payload controller saves a job and recovers it after a radiation fault
- How your scheduler moves work when a gateway goes out of view
- How your inter-satellite link keeps a job running when one satellite must slow down
- How your terminal or gateway keeps data correct across a poor uplink or downlink
Specific claims are harder to design around, and in India they also help you show the technical effect you need under Section 3(k).
Should I patent everything or keep some of it secret?
Also asked as: Patent or trade secret for space technology? What should I not disclose in my patent?
Don’t patent everything. A patent makes your invention public, so ask two simple questions for each feature.
Could a competitor work this out by buying your terminal, opening your hardware or reading your public filings? And if they copied it, could you ever prove it? If the answer to both is no, a trade secret may serve you better.
Your process recipes, tuning settings and data from your own orbital tests are good candidates to review. A mix of patents and trade secrets may be the best case.
But there is one rule you can’t dodge. You can’t claim something and hide what is needed to carry it out.
- India: your complete specification must disclose the best method known to you.
- United States: the best mode requirement is still in §112(a), although failing it can no longer be used to invalidate an issued patent.
So decide this feature by feature, before drafting starts. After filing, it is too late to take the disclosure back.
I have government funding. Does that affect my patent?
Also asked as: Will a NASA, DARPA or government grant affect who owns my invention?
It can. Read your funding agreement before you file, not when an investor asks about it.
In the US, funded inventions can carry real duties. Under Bayh-Dole, a contractor generally has to report the invention within two months after the inventor discloses it in writing to the company’s patent personnel, then elect title and meet filing deadlines. The government also receives a licence.
That licence matters. If the government is your main customer, your patent may not let you stop it from having a third party supply the product.
Funding terms differ from one agreement and one country to another. So read yours and don’t assume.
What if my competitor is working for a government or space agency?
Also asked as: Can I stop a government from using my patented space technology? Can I sue a government contractor?
Then stop asking “Can I shut this down?” and start asking “What compensation can I get?”
In the US, 28 U.S.C. §1498 says that when a patented invention is used or made by or for the government, the owner’s remedy is an action against the United States for reasonable and entire compensation.
The Hughes satellite case shows how slow this can be. The dispute began in 1973. The court set a 1% royalty. The appeal was still being decided in 1996. Hughes won, but it needed patience.
This is not only an American question. Once orbital computing becomes a national priority, governments and their contractors may become major users. In India, look at Sections 47 and 99 to 103 on government use. Build your commercial plan with this in mind.
What should I do before filing my space tech patent?
Also asked as: What should my startup’s space patent checklist include? How do I prepare my invention for a patent attorney?
- Draw your full system: factory, integration site, launch site, gateway, user terminal, control centre, satellite bus, payload and links.
- Mark what sits on Earth, what sits in orbit, and which company runs each part.
- For every independent claim, write down who infringes, in which country, and by what act.
- Keep separate independent claims for the ground side and the in-space system. Use dependent claims to add narrower features.
- Include at least one claim that can be infringed before launch.
- Describe alternatives in the specification. A function on the ground today may move to the satellite tomorrow.
- File where competitors build, sell, operate and serve customers.
- Check government funding and likely government customers.
- Decide what to patent and what to keep secret, feature by feature.
- Clear foreign-filing and export-control rules before anything goes abroad, including India’s Section 39.
What is the one thing I should remember?
Don’t claim only the satellite. Claim the commercial pathway to it.
The satellite may fly over every country. Your gateway, your user terminal, your factory and your customer do not. That is where your patent starts to work.
Satellites may operate beyond national borders. Your patent claims still have to land somewhere.
Who can help me secure my space technology?
Bring your system diagram, not a polished patent draft. At Sitabience IP, we help founders and inventors map the system, identify who could infringe and where, and draft the patent around that plan across India, the US and Europe.
If you are building a satellite, payload, ground terminal, gateway or orbital computing system, write to us at patents@sitabienceip.com. Start with one question: where would your patent actually be enforced?
Bikash Kumar Lohia, Registered Patent Agent (IN/PA-1714), Founder and Director, Sitabience IP
This article is general information, not legal advice.