The propriety of commercial remote sensing

✍ Scribed by Craig P. Ehrlich

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Weight: 115 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1058-0247
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1520-6386(199931)10:1<18::aid-cir5>3.0.co;2-a

✦ Synopsis

Several 1-meter commercial remote sensing satellites are expected to be in orbit by 1999, producing digital images of the surface of the earth for sale on the market. There are several such satellites presently in orbit, launched by six nations, but none has resolution less than 2 meters. In the past, images were used to make maps, search for oil, forecast the weather and study the ocean, but the sharper resolution will expand the potential uses of earth-surface images. The market is projected to generate billions of dollars in revenues in the next decade. There is a potential use of remote sensing as a competitive intelligence tool, but it is unclear whether the law allows one to observe the activities of a competitor by such means. This article examines several areas of law to determine the potential liability of the user of a high-resolution image.