Outer Space Treaty Woes

Dan Schrimpster has figured out that Articles II and VI of the outer space treaty are silly.

Article II of The Outer Space Treaty makes it impossible for anyone to claim and have any authority over an asteroid, or territory in outer space as property. Now the way I've read the treaty that it only talks about governments laying claim and not private citizens. That being said some say it bans any claim whatsoever.

Now Article VI says that nations will be responsible for the activities of anyone in outer space that are registered with them. So if an American company sets up shop on the moon the US is responsible for anything they do. It also says that it would be the US's responsibility to ensure that the company abides by the articles of that treaty. But Article II says that the US has no authority to enforce any of this. Am I, and Dan reading this wrong?

Another way you could read this, is that the US would be responsible to ensure that any company that sets up shop on the moon would never have any property rights... That would effectively create a Communist utopia on the Moon. My thinking though is that the first to colonize the moon will be the first to ignore this treaty in the first place.

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