Monday, March 19, 2007
Good News From China: Lunar Embassy Loses Again.
The Lunar Embassy is an embarrassing joke of a company that purports to sell deeds for land on the Moon and other planets. It operates freely in the United States because a country that popularized the pet rock is not going to worry too much about a company selling phony deeds to property on the Moon.
China has turned out to be a bit less laissez faire. When the Lunar Embassy tried to sell its phony deeds to Chinese consumers, the government shut down the company's operations almost immediately. The Lunar Embassy sued, and then after losing, the company appealed to an intermediate appellate court. "On Friday, the Beijing intermediate court rejected its appeal, saying no individual or country could claim ownership of the moon." (Here.)
The Chinese court's decision on the merits is not the most interesting part of this story. Under current international law, people can't claim ownership of the moon. One day that may change but the Lunar Embassy's novelty act won't be leading the way. If anything, by perpetuating the idea that owning property in space is a novelty gift or a joke, the Lunar Embassy is an impediment to changing the law.
The most interesting aspects of the Lunar Embassy in China saga are how quickly the Chinese government moved to protect its consumers and how the legal proceedings in China mirror our own. There is rule of law in China.
-tdr
Technorati:
China, 
Space, 
Moon.
China has turned out to be a bit less laissez faire. When the Lunar Embassy tried to sell its phony deeds to Chinese consumers, the government shut down the company's operations almost immediately. The Lunar Embassy sued, and then after losing, the company appealed to an intermediate appellate court. "On Friday, the Beijing intermediate court rejected its appeal, saying no individual or country could claim ownership of the moon." (Here.)
The Chinese court's decision on the merits is not the most interesting part of this story. Under current international law, people can't claim ownership of the moon. One day that may change but the Lunar Embassy's novelty act won't be leading the way. If anything, by perpetuating the idea that owning property in space is a novelty gift or a joke, the Lunar Embassy is an impediment to changing the law.
The most interesting aspects of the Lunar Embassy in China saga are how quickly the Chinese government moved to protect its consumers and how the legal proceedings in China mirror our own. There is rule of law in China.
-tdr
Technorati:
China, Space, Moon.Labels: China, Law, Lawyers In Space, Luna
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Three Cheers For China's Shutdown Of Lunar Embassy.
China has done the right thing and shut down the so-called Lunar Embassy's company in China. (Story here.) The Lunar Embassy purports to sell property on the moon and other planets under a specious legal theory that it owns the other planets. They don't. No jurisdiction in the United States has yet shut down the Lunar Embassy's activities here. Too bad. As we've written before the Lunar Embassy's bogus claims turn the notion of private property rights in space into a joke and discredit those who seriously advocate opening space to private enterprise. The sooner some enterprising prosecutor in the United States looks into the Lunar Embassy the better.
-tdr
-tdr
Labels: China, Law, Lawyers In Space, Space Captains Of Industry
Friday, October 28, 2005
China Investigates Moon Property Sales Scheme.
As much as we at Tales of the Heliosphere dislike the current regime in China, we've got to give it credit for opening an investigation into the legitimacy of the extraterrestrial land sale schemes of the Lunar Embassy. (See story here.) The so-called Lunar Embassy opened for business this month in China.
The company purports to sell certificates for ownership of land on the moon. The company's website (here) spouts doubletalk about what a purchase really gets the customer. On the one hand the company claims the land claim is legitimate and backs up that claim with some pretty creative and far-fetched legal mumbo jumbo. On the other hand the company claims to sell "novel" items. Note the careful use of the word "novel" as opposed to "novelty." Here's an example of the doubletalk from their website's FAQ page:
The legal bottom line on this company is that the land claims are worthless. They might be cute gifts for space enthusiasts but they do not give the purchaser a legal claim to any property on the moon.
As long as the company was selling these fake deeds for about twenty bucks a pop the harm to the customer was minimal. We believe there is great harm to the cause of property rights in space because it makes the issue seem like a joke or a fraud. But that's a different issue.
Now, however, the company is offering membership in their so-called Century Club for $1,000. That's right, $1,000. And what comes with membership? About 2,000 acres of land on any planet where the company claims to be selling property and the chance to win a trip to Las Vegas and the company president's used sports car. We kid you not. (See site here.)
We're glad that China is investigating this scheme. We believe a jurisdiction in the United States should do the same.
-tdr
The company purports to sell certificates for ownership of land on the moon. The company's website (here) spouts doubletalk about what a purchase really gets the customer. On the one hand the company claims the land claim is legitimate and backs up that claim with some pretty creative and far-fetched legal mumbo jumbo. On the other hand the company claims to sell "novel" items. Note the careful use of the word "novel" as opposed to "novelty." Here's an example of the doubletalk from their website's FAQ page:
"If this is for real, why is it a novel gift?Any potential customer should be hearing loud warning bells after reading that disclaimer.
Answer
We use this statement in two contexts: The first as defined in the American Heritage Dictionary; The quality of being novel: 1) something new and unusual and 2) a small mass-produced article. Well, a property on the Moon definitely falls into all of those categories. The second context is totally out of the Lunar Embassies own, personal paranoia, as our lawyers explained to us 25 years ago when this all started, that this can help avoid any frivolous lawsuits from a foreign country. You should know that this does not diminish the value of the property that you purchase in any way, as every deed is recorded and registered in the Lunar Embassy's registration database and every owners information is listed with that registration. You own this property."
The legal bottom line on this company is that the land claims are worthless. They might be cute gifts for space enthusiasts but they do not give the purchaser a legal claim to any property on the moon.
As long as the company was selling these fake deeds for about twenty bucks a pop the harm to the customer was minimal. We believe there is great harm to the cause of property rights in space because it makes the issue seem like a joke or a fraud. But that's a different issue.
Now, however, the company is offering membership in their so-called Century Club for $1,000. That's right, $1,000. And what comes with membership? About 2,000 acres of land on any planet where the company claims to be selling property and the chance to win a trip to Las Vegas and the company president's used sports car. We kid you not. (See site here.)
We're glad that China is investigating this scheme. We believe a jurisdiction in the United States should do the same.
-tdr
Labels: China, Law, Lawyers In Space, Space Captains Of Industry
Monday, November 12, 2007
More Lunar (Mis)Deeds
From Arkansas comes a story about another company claiming to own the Moon. (Here.) Not content to just own the Moon, Space Pioneers is in the business of selling parcels of lunar land at $28 per acre.
The company's claim to own the Moon is, of course, utter legal nonsense, regardless of what its ownership may believe. (Read the entertaining legal babble at the company website here. Their "claim is for all of mankind which includes the planets in the Milky Way Galaxy; with an amendment to specify the inclusion of the moons.")
In the real world, consumers are either being fooled by Space Pioneers out of $28 for a worthless piece of paper or they are willing buyers of a novelty gift. Maybe what the company is doing counts as fraud and maybe it doesn't. It doesn't matter in the United States because law enforcement officials don't seem to be interested in pursuing companies selling worthless deeds to land in outer space. China had the right idea when it gave Lunar Embassy the boot and shut down the company's nascent operations there in 2005, a decision upheld by a Chinese court in a victory for the rule of law just this year. (Here.) But the real harm from schemes like this one isn't to the pocketbooks of individual consumers it's what the publicity does to the vision or real private space development.
Humanity has a future in space. One day we will live up there and use the resources of space to better our lives there and down here on Earth, and to make money. When that day comes legal issues involving ownership of land or minerals will have to be resolved. I can assure you of one thing. When some legitimate company finally has the wherewithal to put a mining operation on the Moon and lays claim to the minerals it is extracting, some $28 per acre owner of a deed from Space Pioneers won't be able to stop them and won't see a dime in rents or profits no matter how many cease and desist letters the owner writes and how many lawsuits get filed.
The current legal regime governing space will change when the vision of humans making space our home becomes a reality. Schemes like those of Space Pioneers and Lunar Embassy make a mockery of that vision. The sooner these kind of operations are shut down the better.
-tdr
The company's claim to own the Moon is, of course, utter legal nonsense, regardless of what its ownership may believe. (Read the entertaining legal babble at the company website here. Their "claim is for all of mankind which includes the planets in the Milky Way Galaxy; with an amendment to specify the inclusion of the moons.")
In the real world, consumers are either being fooled by Space Pioneers out of $28 for a worthless piece of paper or they are willing buyers of a novelty gift. Maybe what the company is doing counts as fraud and maybe it doesn't. It doesn't matter in the United States because law enforcement officials don't seem to be interested in pursuing companies selling worthless deeds to land in outer space. China had the right idea when it gave Lunar Embassy the boot and shut down the company's nascent operations there in 2005, a decision upheld by a Chinese court in a victory for the rule of law just this year. (Here.) But the real harm from schemes like this one isn't to the pocketbooks of individual consumers it's what the publicity does to the vision or real private space development.
Humanity has a future in space. One day we will live up there and use the resources of space to better our lives there and down here on Earth, and to make money. When that day comes legal issues involving ownership of land or minerals will have to be resolved. I can assure you of one thing. When some legitimate company finally has the wherewithal to put a mining operation on the Moon and lays claim to the minerals it is extracting, some $28 per acre owner of a deed from Space Pioneers won't be able to stop them and won't see a dime in rents or profits no matter how many cease and desist letters the owner writes and how many lawsuits get filed.
The current legal regime governing space will change when the vision of humans making space our home becomes a reality. Schemes like those of Space Pioneers and Lunar Embassy make a mockery of that vision. The sooner these kind of operations are shut down the better.
-tdr
Labels: Law, Lawyers In Space, Space Captains Of Industry
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Space Property RIghts.
This article (here) is a very good discussion on the issues regarding private property rights in space. It's remarkably well-informed on the issue, which is evident by the article's discussion of sea-bed mining as a model for future space exploitation and property rights in space.
The article is a bit too charitable to the Lunar Embassy's bogus sales of Lunar real estate. The Lunar Embassy's land sales may demonstrate there is a market for owning property in space. On the negative side the so-called land sales make the idea of private property in space seem like a joke in media reporting and, frankly, the sales are a scam.
Also, judging by the comments of Planetary Society's President Lou Freedman, he's not exactly an advocate of space commercialization. That could explain why he thinks the Planetary SOciety's so-called Save Our Science campaign to have NASA continue doing the Same Old Stuff in space is such a great idea.
-tdr
Technorati: NASA, Space.
The article is a bit too charitable to the Lunar Embassy's bogus sales of Lunar real estate. The Lunar Embassy's land sales may demonstrate there is a market for owning property in space. On the negative side the so-called land sales make the idea of private property in space seem like a joke in media reporting and, frankly, the sales are a scam.
Also, judging by the comments of Planetary Society's President Lou Freedman, he's not exactly an advocate of space commercialization. That could explain why he thinks the Planetary SOciety's so-called Save Our Science campaign to have NASA continue doing the Same Old Stuff in space is such a great idea.
-tdr
Technorati: NASA, Space.
Labels: Lawyers In Space
Saturday, October 22, 2005
One Billion New Suckers?
The Lunar Embassy, which purports to sell property on the moon, is setting up shop in China. (See the story here.) Ownership of private property in space is a serious issue. The law needs to be changed to recognize private property rights in space. At best the Lunar Embassy makes this issue a joke and turns serious people who advocate private ownership in space into laughingstocks. At worst people are being duped into believing they own something they don't. Something should be done to crack down on this business. China may be just the country to do it. (See story here.) Not that we're making a recommendation.
-tdr
-tdr
Labels: China, Law, Lawyers In Space, Space Captains Of Industry
