So, you've got a technology that has application in outer space? That's awesome! You aren't the only one. Turns out, this is common enough that there is an entire section of the U.S. Federal Code all about it! Clear back in 1990, what became 35 U.S.C. 105 was brought into the federal law. You can read the actual code here, but don't worry. I'll explain what it means.
In short, if you patent something in the U.S., your patent coverage extends to space on all U.S. related space missions. So, if you invent a new battery that weighs half what the best battery on the market weighs and SpaceX wants to use it, they need your permission on the ground and in space.
But what if your patent is only useful in space? You're still covered. For example, if you come up with a fancy new method for calculating orbital trajectories, you can get that patent and any U.S. based company that uses that method in any way has to have your permission. If you need help writing it, checkout my company. In the example section, you can check out a patent for a process for turning lunar regolith into metal and oxygen; it's titled "Devices, methods, and systems for combined ore reduction and metals stripping".
Before you get too excited, though, the rest of the world is a bit behind the times. There is a very poorly written Outer Space Treaty and an ever more poorly written Moon Treaty. The first is pretty broadly ratified, though the second is mostly ignored. The thing is, the first makes it clear that governments can't claim space. A lot of top minds interpret that to mean that space has no ownership at all. They try to argue that space is the common inheritance of mankind, which is great on paper, but why would anyone go there if they couldn't own the product of their hard work? So, the U.S. has led the way by giving patent rights and more recently guaranteeing that private companies could mine the moon and asteroids, owning the product of their labor.
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