On Tue, 11 Jun 2013, Onno Meyer wrote:
So it would be clear that prospector X visisted an asteroid, then a
year later prospector Y, then after a decade mining ship Z. Does Z
owe anything to X? I guess that Y's claims would be dismissed out
of hand ...
The "business secret" are detailed maps, possibly seismic scans, of
the asteroids. Are the long-range spectrographic surface readings
representative? Is the rock structurally sound for a mining base
with just a thin cover of ice, or is it a fragile slushball? Things
like that.
A prospector ship (or their representatives on Earth) could hand over
data on a promise that they get x percent of the value if and when the
miners harvest the asteroid, or they could be sent to check specific
rocks for a flat fee. (No financial risk for the PCs, but there are
plenty of other dangers.)
If prospectors simply sell data, there is nothing that keeps competing
prospectors to collect the same data later. So it might be that X get's
nothing because Z bought from Y. Or Z stole the data from somewhere. Or Z
had decided to risk mining without data, because they figured the data was
too expensive.
In that case the best practice for prospectors would be to transmit their
data as soon as possible to their employer and representative on a secure
channel.
Is there still some authority where you can file a claim for mining rights
on some astereoid for some cost? Then prospectors in the employ of a
mining company might only send a take it, or ignore it at first to get the
paperwork started. If not, it can still be neccessary to keep data secret
for a long time, meaning mining companies might try to control where
prospectors go, after they leave their employ.
If there is something roughly analogous to a patent office, that gives
the first prospectors rights on the astereoid, then there will need to be
rules, how detailed a survey has to be to count, and if an incomplete
survey gives at least some rights or not.
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