Incredibly lucky new Phantom owner

[SoCalDude]

Technically, your friend sold his video "in furtherance of a business" (FAA's terms, not mine). It doesn't have to be his business, but it was the cable network's business. Even if he gave the video for free to the network, he helped further a business. Therefore, that flight and video are considered commercial.

I forgot to add, "...unless he contributed his video to public domain."

 

[Meta4]

I forgot to add, "...unless he contributed his video to public domain."

You didn't read post #14

 

[driehl]

Well put meta4... lighten up people! It's a picture! Good for him!


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[GadgetGuy]

That's for sure.
Whenever this sort of thing crops up there are always plenty that want to be hardline and denounce a flyer for selling a photo.


The FAA is concerned with commercial flying - not selling the odd photo.
At the time of the flight, it was legal recreational flying.
Selling a photo this week from a flight made legally last week doesn't retrospectively make a past flight illegal.
If you look at what actions the FAA has taken, you see that they are concerned with dangerous flying and not very concerned with selling photos.
This article shows all drone flyers fined by the FAA as of a few months back.
The FAA Gave Us a List of Every Drone Pilot Who Has Ever Been Fined
Despite there being no shortage of unlicensed flyers who have sold photos, I don't see anyone on that list for selling photos.

In the interests of providing something with more authority than a couple of forum lawyer's opinions, I offer this FAA document prepared by an FAA lawyer expressing a legal opinion on exactly what is being discussed here:
FAA Memo on Media Use of FAA
To cut to the chase, here's the relevant part:

Now if anyone wants to discuss this further, you understand the FAA's opinion and don't have to guess what it is.

The FAA's core business is air safety, they are not there to decide who can and can't sell photos.
I say he's a lucky drone flyer and good luck to him.
Prohibiting him from selling a good image taken in the past would do absolutely nothing to improve air safety.

Well said!