How Can Commercial Drone Interests Be Aligned?

On this episode of Drones in America, host Grant Guillot invited Matthew Clark, a Senior Associate at Hogan Lovells, to share his insight on the American drone industry and its current landscape.

Though Clark said he never expected to become a “drone lawyer,” the field has offered him tremendous opportunities, particularly during a time when traditional legal work presented higher barriers to entry.

Clark presented his insights for working with different federal agencies, from the most prominent to lesser known bodies and those that have a less-obvious hand in drone regulations.

As a policy advisor, Clark also said that state and local regulations and entities will have to be navigated, as well, as the drone industry continues to grow in the United States.

Both Clark and Guillot said that drone regulations will need to avoid becoming too “patchwork” as the nation’s commercial use and overall drone numbers grow. In particular, Clark envisions battles occurring over property rights, airspace and more.

“Once [drones] become more widespread and prevalent, you’re going to see these fights continue to occur and continue to rise up,” Clark said. “There are organizations out there that are looking at this right now. The Uniform Law Commission is trying to put together a rule on property rights that would create promise for the commercial industry trying to operate on a large scale.”

Catch up on previous episodes of Drones In America!