Drones

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On May 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidated a Federal Aviation Administration regulation that required the owners of recreational drones—unmanned aircraft system (“UAS”)—to register with the agency.  The court held that the regulation violated the same law that the FAA had used, in part, to justify the requirement.  The…

Welcome to the Drone Age.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) long-awaited rule on the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS” or “drones”) took effect Monday, August 29, 2016, providing a comprehensive and generally applicable set of rules for anyone wishing to operate a small drone for commercial purposes.

This does not mean you…

On Tuesday, June 21, 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) finalized its long-awaited rule on the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS” or “drones”).  The rule is significant because it provides a comprehensive and generally applicable set of rules for anyone wishing to operate a small drone for commercial purposes.

Before the adoption…

On December 14, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a significant regulation that requires all owners of small unmanned aircraft systems – between 0.55 and 55 pounds – to register with the agency.

News outlets have good summaries of the rules, so we only recap them here. An individual who owns a drone before December…

FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker told House members last week that the agency is expecting to finalize its rule on small drone operations by June 17, 2016.  While this timeline is earlier than many expected, the FAA failed to meet the September 30, 2015 deadline initially set by Congress in a 2012 law.  Still, the…

Last July, we raised the question of whether advertising revenue from hobbyists’ drone videos posted on YouTube could constitute commercial operations of a drone.  At the time, we noted that some hobbyists’ videos were preceded by advertisements, indicating that the videos were likely part of YouTube’s Partner Program, where a portion of the advertising revenue…

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration today requested public comment on privacy issues related to the use of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”).  The request came a day after two members of Congress introduced a bill that would impose significant privacy restrictions on drone operators.

The NTIA request is a result of a Feb.…

On Sunday, the White House released a memorandum that outlines privacy protections that federal agencies must take when they use drones, and directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to work with the private sector to establish voluntary privacy practices for commercial drone use.

The White House issued the memorandum on the same day that…