Drones: The Legal Frontier - the Opportunities and Risks of Taking Flight

May Winfield

August 2018

A paper based on a presentation to the Society of Construction Law and the Chartered Institute of Building at the joint meeting in London on 17th April 2018

The paper provides a useful review of the current legal position in the UK regarding commercial drones and their current and potential use in the construction industry. The author examines the potential legal risks in areas such as insurance, compliance with regulations, privacy, trespass and property damage and makes suggestions about how drone users might mitigate these risks, generally and contractually, and in terms of the specific operation of drones.

Why drones? - Insurers' understanding - The laws and regulations on drones - Potential legal issues - Registration, regulations and statutes - Privacy and data protection - Trespass - Injuries and property damage - Insurance - Contractual liability - Mitigating risk: some thoughts on sensible measures - Final thoughts

The author: May Winfield is a senior construction solicitor specialising in construction technology.

Text: 13 pages