The Hogan Lovells Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Group recently held a workshop in Silicon Valley on the regulatory, business, and financial hurdles to operating unmanned aircraft systems. The event was of particular interest given the Federal Aviation Administration’s issuance of its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for small UAS operations on February 15 and the White House’s release on the same day of a presidential memorandum promoting economic competitiveness while safeguarding privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties in domestic use of UAS.
Three panel discussions took place involving key players in the UAS community and Hogan Lovells lawyers from the Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia offices on the following timely topics:
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UAS Industry FAA Regulation Update: moderated by UAS Group Chair Ted Ellett (Washington, D.C.)
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Privacy, Data Protection, and Property Rights: moderated by Jared Bomberg (Washington, D.C.), with several panelists, including Tim Tobin (Washington, D.C.)
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Doing Business in UAS-related Transactions: A Discussion of What To Include in Your Deals and Agreements: moderated by Randy Segal (Northern Virginia), with several panelists including Nate Gallon (Silicon Valley)
In addition to Hogan Lovells, there were panelists and other speakers from the UAS community; Pictorvision; National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA); the UAS America Fund; and Exelis. The Privacy + Tech Project at UC Hastings College of Law also participated.
Michael Dyment, managing partner and founder, NEXA Capital Partners, LLC, closed the workshop with a discussion about the potential for the commercial UAS industry in the United States and the need for expedited and not overly burdensome rulemaking in this area, including rulemaking for micro-UAS.
At the end of the event, attendees had the opportunity to network with the panelists and industry experts at a reception. The entire event was very well received.
The “How-to” guide was published in the Global Media and Communications Quarterly which can be accessed here.