Expertise

Comprehensive Advisory Services in the Aerospace Industry including Public Contracts Review, and Legislative Consulting Services

In the aerospace industry, most of significant issues closely relate to public contracts such as government procurement and offset trade and often intersect with the defense industry.

Based on the wealth of experience of our experts who had previously served at the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Lee & Ko’s AeroSpace Practice Group provides optimal services to clients in assisting negotiation for offset trades, reviewing public contracts, and advising on the aerospace industry as a whole.

In addition, our AeroSpace Practice Group proposes policies necessary for the aerospace industry and offers legislative consulting services to assist in the drafting and amendment of relevant laws and subordinate legislation.


Aerospace Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets

The aerospace sector is marked by significant and rapid technological advances and innovation which requires a nuanced understanding of specific technical issues in the industry. For example, launch vehicle tanks and engine accessory containers must be made thinner than in commonly used vehicles since they will be used in space, a specialized environment. 

Our AeroSpace Practice Group is comprised of attorneys who specialize in the practice of science, physics, or engineering with in-depth knowledge of the aerospace industry, including satellites, launch vehicles, and aircraft, as well as advisors who are former judges in the Intellectual Property Division. Thus, our Group is highly competent in the aerospace sector, and has in particular been instructed, by a group of leading experts, to defend against disputes such as patent infringement litigation or patent invalidation proceedings, advise on trade secrets, defense technology, national core technology protection, and information security, and build IP portfolios including patent application filing in Korea and abroad.


Aerospace Finance

Lee & Ko’s AeroSpace Practice Group advises companies on financing issues that may arise in the course of their aerospace endeavors. In the case of space assets, many of which will be located in space, it is virtually impossible to repossess them by enforcing a security interest even if they are pledged as collateral, and therefore, the traditional means of asset financing are not appropriate. In this regard, the Cape Town Convention, which is mainly applied to aircraft financing, has been extended to space assets, and the Space Protocol has been drafted as an annex to the above Convention. Although the Protocol is not yet in force, it provides various implications for space finance. With our unrivaled experience in the conventional aircraft finance market, our AeroSpace Practice Group is well positioned to support our clients on all aspects of aerospace finance, which appears similar but practically different from aircraft finance.


International Trade, including Domestic and Overseas Regulations and International Treaties related to Aerospace Industry

Lee & Ko’s AeroSpace Practice Group advises clients on applicable domestic and overseas laws and regulations regarding the launch, operation and operation of space objects developed by companies, attribution of ownership, and liability for damages related to space accidents, as well as international treaty norms, including interpretation of the Outer Space Treaty. We also comprehensively advise clients on trade issues, including export controls under the Foreign Trade Act and U.S. economic sanctions and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) regarding the export of aerospace products and technologies.