On Wed, 12 Jun 2013, Onno Meyer wrote:
Johannes replied to me:
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 ...
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.
But it would still be clear that X made the survey before Y. The fact
that there was a survey may count as staking a claim, and Y's survey
could be considered claim jumping. Z can't buy stolen goods from Y.
Or Z stole the data from somewhere.
They can't admit that, of course.
Or Z
had decided to risk mining without data, because they figured the data was
too expensive.
One whistleblower, and Z is history.
That was under the assumption, that the surveys don't automatically result
in claims, but that prospectors only sell their data. In that case all the
actions of Z, with the exception of stealing the data would be legal.
Is there still some authority where you can file a claim for mining rights
on some astereoid for some cost?
Maybe. If the legal system assumes that a survey means a claim
exists, then it won't be necessary to 'file' anything -- who
surveyed what would have been watched by countless amateur
astronomers tracking drive flames, and debated at length on
the web.
If a survey automatically results in a claim, you need rules what the
minimum requirements for a survey are. A mining company might get the
idea, that they make fast inexact surveys at a distance to get claims on
many astereoids and then later send a ship to make a real survey, to pick,
which of their asteroids they actually should mine.
It also will lead to a large number of claimed astereoids, that nobody
actually wants to use for anything.
It's a plausible scenario, but not the only one.
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.
NDAs or more direct measures?
Whatever fits to the background.
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