This article provides background and introduces into the overarching themes of the contributions to the Special Issue dealing with investment protection in areas beyond territorial jurisdiction at sea and in outer space. It explains that fast-paced commercialization, evolving technological advances, and the inevitable need for regulatory intervention make the oceans and space into an increasingly important topic in international investment law. At the same time, investment lawyers, as well as experts in the law of the sea and space law, have largely ignored the legal issues foreign investments raise in these spaces. The article sketches out a framework for addressing the underlying issues from an investment law perspective, pointing out both familiar conceptual approaches and novel challenges.