The Common Good and Access to Remote Sensing Data

The research, using the regulatory examples of the USA and Europe, compares the effectiveness of legal regimes of intellectual property protection (copyright), and of the regulation of public sector information on the other in securing access to and use of remote sensing data. On the basis of this analysis the argument is made, that the unnecessary commodification of remote sensing data through private property¿like protection regimes will adversely influence their use and diminish their value. The principle of sharing, based on the theories of common property and the common good, is proposed as the best and most appropriate solution to avoid development of such a scenario. Its viability and effectiveness lies in the emphasis on the balance between the private interests and the public needs in the achievement of the common good of a better life that today manifests itself inter alia in being information rich. Practical value of the principle of sharing manifests through its role in successful implementation and operations of such projects as the Geographic Earth Observation System of Systems.