How far can we bend the law before it breaks?
If you fly a drone for free and obtain photography, then use that photography as part of paid services, would it still count as commercial use?
I am trying to determine the canopy loss for a Conservation Enforcement order. I have an awesome 7.5cm aerial from 2015 and the client does not want me to take a camera up in a plane. I am expecting my back ordered christmas present (some sort of drone) to arrive this week. I have registered with the FAA for non-commercial use and I have contacted the local airport for the procedure to alert them of my anticipated flights.
These are pitch pines, so it is hard to determine the exact number of trees from the aerial. I have tried some tree recognition algorithms with the 2011 aerial lidar data, but that is iffy as well.
I know the answer is probably NO WAY JOSE, but if there is some exception, I would expect someone here to know it.
Thanks
I think all the aviation authorities take much the same line - once it is used for a commercial purpose (which INCLUDES using photography to promote your business, even if somebody else doesn't pay for it) then you need a commercial licence.
A police force in the UK (Merseyside Police) got themselves into trouble when they supplied a television station with surveillance footage for a news item and received a payment for the film.
