Drone Law Today

That's a wrap. The podcast is closing for good at the end of 2017. Thanks for everything.  -Steve

You are doing something heroic. Make it a good story. Links for You: State Drone Law on Amazon The Horse and His Boy   Listen in iTunes Listen in Stitcher   Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don't make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. Thanks for Everything, -Steve

Today we have a real treat. Professor Shawn Bayern joins us to talk about artificial intelligence "inhabiting" business organizations. The ghost in the LLC, if you will. You may recall our conversation with Matt Scherer recently, where he took issue with Bayern's ideas on business entities without humans in them. This conversation is the "counterpoint" to that conversation, at least at one level. Then we go deeper. Way deeper. And we touch on the things that really matter in this area of law, thought, and philosophy. One warning, though: We go deep fast. And we don't lay a lot of groundwork for the things we launch into. So if you haven't heard our talk with Matt Scherer yet, go listen to that first. That will give you background enough to ride along on these issues. Or just jump in. Do what you feel. Links for You: Shawn Bayern's FSU Page Bayern: Implications of Modern Business-Entity Law for the Regulation of Autonomous Systems Bayern: Bitcoins and Independently Wealthy Software Bayern: Company Law and Auto

New things are happening. The first new thing is the publication of State Drone Law (Second Edition). If you're on the mailing list, you already got a free copy. (If you're not, sign up at www.dronelawtoday.com/book and get yours). Hard copies are up on Amazon. Leave us a review there – those five-star ratings really matter. The second new thing is that we finally have a federal preemption ruling on local drone laws. Check out the order in Singer v. City of Newton, below. The third new thing is what comes next for this podcast. You might already have a sense of where we're going next if you've been paying close attention. Tune in for a preview of what 2018 may bring. Links for You: State Drone Law on Amazon Order from Singer v. City of Newton NeuraLink Article (from Wait but Why)   Listen on YouTube Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don't make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. Keep on Flying, -Steve

This episode was one of the best conversations I've ever had in my life. This was something special. Matt Scherer, the A.I. Lawyer himself, joins us again to talk about his recent blog posts on "Robotic Personhood." Here's the set-up: A well-regarded law professor, Shawn Bayern, published a law review article arguing that it is possible under current limited liability company ("LLC") laws to create a legal entity (an LLC) that was completely run and occupied by an Artificial Intelligence system. Essentially, Bayern's argument was that you could create an "A.I. Person" under the current laws, in that you could have a legal entity operating without any human involved. That's an "out there" concept. Matt disagreed with Bayern's arguments. He laid out his counter-arguments in a series of blog posts, linked down below, that "go deep" into the statutory analysis. So we get into that a little bit. But the bigger conversation we started having was about the bigger concept of A.I. personhood. How do you even think abo

Brian Wynne is working for you every day, whether you know it or not. As President and CEO of AUVSI, the leading trade organization for the drone industry, Mr. Wynne is working to make the world safe for drones as the federal, state, and international levels. If you are not yet familiar with Mr. Wynne, here is an abbreviated biography: Brian Wynne is president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of unmanned systems and robotics. AUVSI represents more than 7,000 members from more than 60 countries involved in the fields of government, industry and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets. Wynne brings in-depth experience in transportation and technology applications gained through leadership roles with industry associations and public-private partnerships. Prior to joining AUVSI in January 2015, he was president and CEO of the Electric Drive Transportation Associat

Do you know The Drone Analyst, Colin Snow? Are you reading his reports? If you aren't, get ready: your world is about to change. Mr. Snow has been putting out top-quality research on the commercial drone industry since 2012. We had an opportunity to have him on the podcast to share his insight into what's going on in the industry now, and where we might be headed in the future. As a matter of background, here is Mr. Snow's abbreviated biography – this guy is for real: Colin Snow is CEO and Founder of Skylogic Research, LLC and operates under the brand Drone Analyst®. Colin is a 25 year technology industry veteran with a background in market research, enterprise software, electronics, digital imaging, and mobility. His experience includes aerial photography as well as making, programming, and piloting remote control aircraft. Colin holds an MBA from Florida Atlantic University and is a member of all major UAS industry groups including: AUVSI, RCAPA, and AMA. Skylogic Research is a research, content, and adviso

Drone Law Nation, there's never a dull moment in the drone law world, is there? A huge decision was handed down last month from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In the case of Taylor v. FAA, the Court held that the FAA's drone registration requirement for hobbyists was illegal. When I say illegal, I mean that it went against Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. That was a law passed by Congress and signed by the President. In our governmental system, a federal agency cannot do things that are banned by a federal statute. And that is what the Court held that the drone registration system did – it went against the text of the statute that prevented FAA regulation of model aircraft. Today's episode is a talk with John Taylor, the plaintiff in the case. Joining us is the (ever amazing) Jonathan Rupprecht, who you will know from prior episodes. Jonathan helped Mr. Taylor with the case. This talk is an "inside view" of how the litigation went down. We also get

When Part 107 came out last year, I wondered whether this podcast would still be useful. I wondered if it would still serve the purpose we started with – to clear up "drone law" issues that the world seemed confused about. With the FAA's regulations on commercial use *finally* coming out last August, I thought that the misunderstandings might clear up. That the confusion might die away. That the community would have less of a need for a clear, trusted legal perspective. At least in a podcast form. Two recent events have convinced me that this resource is needed now, more than ever. They have shown me that the gray areas in drone law haven't gone away. The confusion persists – just about different things than before. The first thing that happened was in the "Drone Slayer" case. A federal judge "dismissed" a lawsuit brought by a man who's drone was shot down in Kentucky. The lawsuit sought a ruling from the court that drones are aircraft, just like the FAA says (but no judge has agreed with, yet), and therefore

Drone Law Nation, we're in this for the long haul. My law firm started its work with the commercial drone industry five years ago, when the FMRA first came out. Since then, it's been a wild ride. We've grown with you, and you've grown with us. And we appreciate you all. The mission of this podcast will always be to share the best information possible about the legal side of the drone industry. To do that, we are approaching this like a marathon. One we are running with you. Starting this month, Drone Law Today is going to a quarterly publication schedule. This will ensure that we continue to put out the best information possible over the long haul. In this episode, we talk a little about this and then jump right into your questions. You've sent in a lot of great questions, and we're overdue for a "mailbag" episode. Thank you to everyone who has supported us through Amazon. Your trust and support means the world to us. We are doing everything we can to honor that trust, to honor that support, and to right "sho

Who owns the air above your backyard? Do you own it? Why do you think so? Why wouldn't you "own" it? What does "ownership" even mean? Welcome to the weird world of "aerial property rights." We've talked about these issues before, most notably in the Drone Law Course from last year. The problem of aerial property rights came to mind this week, though, because of a conversation I had with Ian Smith of Commercial Drones FM. Before Ian and I spoke on his podcast, he tweeted out a request for questions. The first one that came through was from that singular gentlemen and scholar, Jonathan Rupprecht, who asked us: "who owns the lower portion of the sky?" That question is one of the hardest issues facing the drone industry, and he knew it! Ian and I were game for the question though, and talked through the issues at length. In this episode, we dig deeper into that issue by highlighting the work of Professor Troy Rule. His article, Airspace in an Age of Drones, serves as the foundation for our episode today. Tune

Drone Law Nation, today's episode is about fighting to win. Our guest today is David Daniel, the Executive Director of the UAS Association of Florida. The mission of the UAS Association of Florida is to encourage the growth of the drone industry in Florida by fighting to prevent unnecessary and over-burdensome regulations. And you know how they do that? Through professional lobbying. We've talked before about the importance of professional lobbying to the drone industry. It is especially critical at the state level, as states are doing all sorts of things that may hinder the growth potential for drones. The question before us is whether we want to be pitchers who control the game, or hitters who only react? Professional lobbying means controlling the game. Pushing the agenda and changing the world by telling our own story. If our story isn't told by us, then who will tell it? If the grassroots base of the drone industry does not speak up, then the people controlling the narrative are those that know the le

Welcome back, Drone Law Nation! Today we have a bonus episode with some thank-you's, reflection, and announcements of changes.  First, thank you all for an amazing 2016. We launched the Drone Law Course and the State Drone Law Book while continuing to introduce you to the people and ideas making the drone industry "go."  We look forward to doing more in 2017, but to do that consistently we are changing the schedule.  Starting this month, the Drone Law Today Podcast will publish every-other-week. Our next episode will be on January 23.  Thank you for going on this journey with us since we started in 2015. We look forward to an awesome 2017, with more great things to share.  We have some great things coming out in 2017. Make sure you don't miss a thing by getting on the email list. You can join it by downloading the Drone Revolution and State Drone Law books, or by submitting a question on our Question Collector.  Until next time, Drone Law Nation – Keep On Flying.  Links for

Welcome back, Drone Law Nation! Today we are back with the tenth and final part of our series on the Constitutional issues raised when police use drones. Today we're talking about the future. Through the lens of legal scholars who have written about these issues, we will take a look at what future cases might look like. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Listen in for more about what the future might be. Links for you: Police Drones Part 1 Police Drones Part 2 Police Drones Part 3 Police Drones Part 4 Police Drones Part 5 Police Drones Part 6 Police Drones Part 7 Police Drones Part 8 Police Drones Part 9 U.S. Constitution: Amendment 4 Villasenor: Observations from Above Farber: Eyes in the Sky Ohm: Fourth Amendment in a World Without Privacy Kerr: Equilibrium Adjustment Theory   Listen in iTunes Listen in Stitcher  Nothing in this podcast is legal advice! Please don't make legal decisions for yourself or your business before consulting counsel of your choice. Learn more about our law fir

Drone Law Nation, you heard it here first: the Ausley McMullen Law Firm has created the first ever book addressing the State Drone Laws in place around the United States. Click the link to get your copy of State Drone Law: State Regulations on Unmanned Aircraft Systems! Joining me to announce the book is Richard Doran, the former Attorney General of Florida and my mentor in all things "drone law." Richard and I have worked together for years in advising Government entities and private companies on issues related to drone law. The State Drone Law Book is the culmination of years of effort to understand the interaction between federal and state law on the drone industry. We worked this summer to compile the statutes and regulations impacting drones all across the country, and to translate that information in an easy-to-understand book. This edition, officially announced to the Drone Law Today Email List on December 30, 2016, is our "first shot" at addressing these issues in a comprehensive way. We intend to upd

Welcome back, Drone Law Nation! Today we are back with Part 9 of our series on the Constitutional issues raised when police use drones.   Today we're talking about State v. Davis, a case from the Supreme Court of New Mexico addressing aerial surveillance under the Fourth Amendment and state law. This case gets into the "nitty gritty" of how to examine helicopter surveillance under federal precedent, and how to "distinguish" your case from precedent that you want to "get away" from. This case came from helicopter surveillance that led to a marijuana seizure – just like Riley. But the New Mexico Supreme Court went a different direction. And it mentioned how it might address drones in a different case.   Listen in for more about what the future might be.   Links for you: Police Drones Part 1 Police Drones Part 2 Police Drones Part 3 Police Drones Part 4 Police Drones Part 5 Police Drones Part 6 Police Drones Part 7 Police Drones Part 8 State v. Davis U.S. Constitution: Amendment 4  

Welcome back, Drone Law Nation! Today we are back with Part 8 of our series on the Constitutional issues raised when police use drones.  Today we're talking about Kyllo v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court case that tells us when "new technology" may infringe on our Fourth Amendment rights. The "new tech" angle is critical here – the first court that considers police searches with a drone under the Fourth Amendment will have to read Kyllo together with Ciraolo, Dow Chemical, and Florida v. Riley to come up with its answer. This means that you should understand these cases, Drone Law Nation, as it could be your product (or client) that makes the law.  Listen in for more about what the future might be.  Links for you: Police Drones Part 1 Police Drones Part 2 Police Drones Part 3 Police Drones Part 4 Police Drones Part 5 Police Drones Part 6 Police Drones Part 7 Kyllo v. U.S. U.S. Constitution: Amendment 4   Listen in iTunes Listen in Stitcher   Follow @DroneLawToday on Twit

Welcome back, Drone Law Nation! Today we are back with Part 7 of our series on the Constitutional issues raised when police use drones.   Our talk today hits the third of our three "aerial surveillance" cases, Florida v. Riley. This case deals with naked-eye surveillance of marijuana plants inside a greenhouse through an open panel in the greenhouse roof. The surveillance took place from a helicopter hovering at 400 feet above the ground.   Was this a "search" that requires a warrant under the Fourth Amendment? The Florida Supreme Court said "yes," but the U.S. Supreme Court said "no." The reasons that the U.S. Supreme Court reached that conclusion may be important for future "police drone" cases.   Listen in for more about what the future might be.   Links for you: Police Drones Part 1 Police Drones Part 2 Police Drones Part 3 Police Drones Part 4 Police Drones Part 5 Police Drones Part 6 Florida v. Riley U.S. Constitution: Amendment 4   Listen in iTunes Listen in Sti

What Technology Wants is an important book. Its author, Kevin Kelly, is a sage.   Mr. Kelly is the rarest of authors: a futurist that is consistently right, consistently insightful, and willing to share the wildest reaches of his mind with the rest of us.   This book is both about what technology is and what it will be. These sound like simple questions, but they aren't. Not by a long shot.   So what is technology? It's everything. It's the nest that a bird makes. It's the clothes that you're wearing. It's the books on your shelf. It's your shelf.   Technology is what living things make. And according to Kevin Kelly? Technology is as inevitable as evolution itself.   His idea is that technology – in all its forms – is an extension of biological evolution. And that biological evolution is itself an extension of the universe's coalescence from energy into matter into planets into stars and, ultimately, into the world we live in.   He doesn't stop there.   He also argues that i

Some people say "lobbyist" like a curse word. Like something awful. Like something evil. That way of thinking? It's a lie.   Lobbying is standing up for yourself. It's advocacy. It's growing up and fighting the fight. That thought in the air that lobbying is "bad?" It's time to get over that, Drone Law Nation. Today's episode is an experiment. I'm reading an article that I wrote in November, 2015. An article about why the drone industry must Lobby or Die. The particulars of the drone world are different in 2016, but the spirit is the same. Join or Die. Lobby or Die. Make something happen, or the world will happen to you. Let's choose to get real. Let's choose to face the world as it is. Let's fight the battle in front of us with smiles on our faces and confidence in our hearts. Let's go win the world.   Links for you: Original "Lobby or Die" Article on LinkedIn Pulse   Listen in iTunes! Listen in Stitcher! Listen on YouTube Follow @DroneLawToday on Twitter! What questions do you have