Drone Law Today

Welcome to Drone Law Today! In this episode, we speak with attorney Kris Graham from the law firm of Taggart, Rimes & Graham in Ridgeland, Mississippi. Kris focuses his practice on the litigation of commercial, premises and professional liability claims, with special concentration on aerospace, higher education and healthcare clients. Kris holds an active pilot’s license for both land and sea, a Section 333 exemption to fly drones commercially, and is a member of AUVSI, Lawyer Pilots Bar Association and the International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association. He leads the firm’s UAS practice group and has helped multiple businesses navigate the process of obtaining a Section 333 exemption. You can reach him via email at kris@trglawyers.com or on Twitter @UnmandNews.  Join Kris and me as we talk state drone law, the future of the drone industry, and how “drone law” and robotics may impact the growing autonomous vehicle market. What questi

Welcome to Drone Law Today! In this episode, we speak to Professor Michael Froomkin of the University of Miami School of Law. Professor Froomkin is a leading scholar on “drone law” and robotics. He is also the founder and chair of the We Robot academic conference. We Robot will be hosted by Miami Law in April, 2016. The call for papers is out! Head over to the We Robot site for attendance information and for more on how to apply to be a speaker or presenter. Listen in to hear Professor Froomkin’s take on federal and state drone law, self-defense against robots and drones, federal preemption, and a whole lot more. Listen in iTunes! Listen in Stitcher! Follow @DroneLawToday on Twitter! What questions do you have about Drone Law? Click here to let us know! Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don’t make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. Check out these links:  Download your FREE copy of “The Drone Revolu

Welcome to Drone Law Today! This episode is a special one, as we interview our FIRST EVER guest to discuss drone law. Our guest today is aviation attorney Christopher Ison. Christopher is the owner of the Ison Law Group in Winter Haven, Florida. As a pilot and a lawyer, Christopher focuses a portion of his practice on all aspects of aviation-related legal matters. Christopher can be contacted at (855) 529-1215, or by visiting www.thepilotlawyer.com. Listen in as we talk about Section 333 Exemptions, Florida’s drone laws, liability and mitigation issues for drone operators, entity formation, drone pilot checklists and logbooks, and a whole lot more. What questions do you have about Drone Law? Click here to let us know! Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don’t make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. Check out these links:  Drone Law Today Blog Follow @DroneLawToday on Twitter! Download your FREE copy of “The Drone

Welcome to Drone Law Today! In this episode, we tackle the “drone law” topic on everyone’s mind: PRIVACY! This word means many things to many people. This episode is about how people might “defend their privacy” by suing drone operators. Lawsuits to protect privacy may take the form of “privacy tort” lawsuits. A “tort” is a legal concept allowing a person to sue for money (or “damages”) to remedy a harm. The main privacy torts are Intrusion Upon Seclusion, Appropriation of Likeness, Publication of Private Facts, and False Light. What do these torts mean for drone operators? How could they change in the future? Listen to find out!  Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don’t make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. All good? Awesome! Check out these links:  Drone Law Today Blog Download your FREE copy of “The Drone Revolution: How Robotic Aviation Will Change the

Welcome to Drone Law Today! In this episode, we look at why it’s a federal crime to shoot down drones. There is a widespread belief that property owners can “shoot down” any drones they see flying over their property. This belief is false. Under the current state of the law, drones are “aircraft” according to federal statutes and regulations. This means that if you shoot down a drone, you have shot down an aircraft. That makes the shooter a federal criminal. Possible penalties include a prison sentence and a $250,000.00 fine. If that surprises you, you’re not alone! This concept is not widely understood. Could it change in the future? Of course! Listen in for more. Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don’t make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. All good? Awesome! Check out these links:  Drone Law Today Blog Download your FREE copy of “The Drone Revolution: How Robotic Aviation Will Change the

Welcome to Drone Law Today! In this episode, we look at how state-level drone laws are impacting the commercial drone industry. Our "case study" is the drone law passed in Florida, right where I live. Florida's first drone law was enacted in 2013 with significant (and largely misunderstood) consequences for the drone industry. The law was amended in 2015 in a way that directly impacts every drone operator in the Sunshine State.  State level drone laws are absolutely critical for the drone industry to understand. Even if you are flying correctly under the FAA's guidelines, a state can completely shut you down just because it wants to. Every commercial drone company must understand this concept - and must organize to help get better laws on the books. Otherwise the commercial drone industry might be regulated out of existence.  State laws are mission-critical for commercial drone companies. Listen in to learn more! Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don't make legal decisions for you

Welcome to Drone Law Today! In this episode, we look at the famous case of Equusearch v. FAA. Texas Equusearch is a search-and-rescue organization that uses cutting-edge technology to find missing persons. They have successfully used drones to find missing persons and the remains of deceased persons for years. You'd be hard pressed to find a more humanitarian use for drones!  The Equusearch case started when the FAA sent emails to the organization telling them to stop using drones! Attorney Brendan Schulman (the "grand master" of U.S. Drone Lawyers) filed a lawsuit challenging the FAA's emails & arguing that Equusearch should be able to keep on flying.  The case resulted in a dismissal of Equusearch's claims. Usually this would mean Equusearch "lost" the case. In this case, things were different! Listen in to learn how Equuesearch "won" by "losing."  Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don't make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of you

In this episode we take a deep dive into the famous case of Pirker v. FAA. This is the case where commercial drone operator Raphael "Trappy" Pirker challenged a $10,000 fine from the FAA. Pirker's case highlights the legal problems you get when you try to apply the rules for manned aircraft to unmanned drones. We discuss Pirker's case from start to finish (the case settled), and put it in the context of the FAA's historical approach to regulating unmanned systems. You may have heard of "Advisory Circular 91-57," the 2007 "clarification" of that advisory, and the FAA's position on commercial operation. This episode goes into all of these things and explains how they all work together. Don't worry, we make it easy! Listen in for more... Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don't make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. All good? Awesome! Check out these links:  Resources for You: DroneLawToday.com Download your FREE copy of "The

In this episode we make sense of the FAA's commercial drone regulations. What's allowed? What's against the rules? What exactly is a Section 333 Exemption? How do you get one? We answer these questions and go into how we got here. None of the regulations make sense without context. This episode will give you the background on how we got where we are today.   Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don't make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. All good? Awesome! Check out these links:  Resources for You: DroneLawToday.com Download your FREE copy of "The Drone Revolution: How Robotic Aviation Will Change the World," right here: CLICK FOR BOOK! FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) FAA Blanket COA Policy

Welcome to Drone Law Today! In this first episode, we talk about what the fast-moving world of drone law means to your commercial drone business. The FAA regulations and state-level drone laws are changing fast. It may look confusing, but it doesn't have to be. This podcast is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs understand state and federal drone law in the United States.  Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don't make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. All good? Awesome! Check out these links:  Resources for You: DroneLawToday.com Download your FREE copy of "The Drone Revolution: How Robotic Aviation Will Change the World," right here: CLICK FOR BOOK! AUVSI Website AUVSI Economic Report Follow @DroneLawToday on Twitter!