If you mean “empty space” as in vacuum then I think it doesn’t contain any paperclips more or less by definition.
It is not clear to me that the definition of the vacuum state (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_state) precludes the momentary creation of paperclips.
It is not clear to me that the definition of the vacuum state (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_state) precludes the momentary creation of paperclips.