Drones

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,…
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Strikes Down FAA Registration Rule for Recreational Drones

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.
Continue Reading FAA Drone Rules Take Effect; Commercial Use of Drones Permitted with Certain Conditions

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…
Continue Reading Federal Aviation Administration Finalizes Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule

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…
Continue Reading Looking Forward After the FAA’s Drone Registration Regulation

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…
Continue Reading Revenue from Drone Videos Could Convert Hobbyists into Commercial Operators, FAA Says

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…
Continue Reading NTIA Seeks Comment on Drone Privacy; Markey and Welch Introduce Drone Privacy Bill

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…
Continue Reading White House Releases Drone Privacy Memorandum

The Federal Aviation Administration will allow CNN to test the use of drones in news gathering under a research agreement that will study how drones can be used safely and effectively by news organizations.

While the FAA has granted limited exemptions for commercial drone use in controlled settings, such as…
Continue Reading FAA Grants CNN Permission to Test Drones in News Gathering