The book assumes that a lawyer has little or no idea how to field a call from a potential client who wants to know if he or she can start a drone business and operate a drone for profit. It imagines an associate lawyer tasked with the job of determining whether evidence obtained by a drone is admissible in a court of law in a particular jurisdiction. It also looks at situtaions where a seasoned aviation lawyer or academic researcher is interested in staying abreast of the latest rules and policies respecting drone operations and larger issues under the Constitution and international law.

This book also considers the non-lawyer who is interested in learning about the law in this specialized area. In all, this book is effective for both the novice and expert.

Like other practice guides, this book draws extensively from, and directs the reader to, primary source material, including federal law, national aviation regulations, state statutes, city ordinances, international laws, and industry standards and practices. Relevant and supplemental secondary materials are detailed in the book’s more than 2,200 footnotes while recommended readings at the end of each of 11 chapters provide additional guidance and starting points for the reader.

At its core,Commercial Drone Law is a traditional treatise that presents the main legal, business, and regulatory issues associated with unmanned aerial vehicles -- drones. Though not designed to be read from beginning to end (but rather from section to section, as needed), this book introduces readers to the seminal issues that constitute drone law: definitions, model aircraft operations, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, airspace, registration, authorizations to fly, and the newly enacted “Part 107” directed to small commercial drones. The book concludes with a comprehensive survey of state-by-state and nation-by-nation drone laws. Altogether, readers will gain rare insight into how laws are made (or not) in the face of rapid technological change.