Re: Do any of you use drones to photograph businesses?
I can't comment on the situation in the US but as a general warning it should be noted that laws are generally getting much stricter across the world. Even Georgia (the country, not the state) recently made unrestricted flying of drones illegal and the UK government has proposed legislation that will require all owners of aircraft weighing over 250g (8oz) to be registered.
For readers in the UK, as things stand at present an operator must maintain a line of sight with the drone under their control and keep it below 400ft (120m). Perhaps more significantly in the context of Google Maps, a drone must not be flown within 150ft (50m) of people and property, or within 500ft (150m) of crowds and built-up areas. Clearly, however, this is a bit of a legal minefield as someone may pop up unexpectedly where least expected and I'm not sure whether any relevant case law yet exists to clarify the legal position in such circumstances - that is if the operator has taken reasonable steps to ensure they were abiding by the law beforehand.
However, it not only goes without saying that drones should be kept well away from aircraft, airports and airfields, anyone who is found to have endangered the safety of an aircraft through the use of drones could find themselves handed down a five-year prison sentence.
As one other respondent has suggested, if you're really that desparate the best option is probably to stick a camera on the end of a long pole, providing it's not likely to cause any problems should it topple over of course. This may not guarantee you don't incur the wrath of others and risk a punch in the nose if they take exception to their personal space being invaded but at least you'll stay within the law ... probably, as there are some legal issues to consider if children are photographed (for obvious reasons) and some countries, such as France, have fairly strict privacy laws to consider.
Re: Do any of you use drones to photograph businesses?
Further to my earlier post on drone use in the UK, the government have are now proposing that in future (bill to be published Spring 2018) drone users will have to register and sit a test if they're piloting a craft over 250g (which probably covers most with a camera on board and certainly anything half-decent) - see this BBC news story for more details. As noted therein, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) produce a helpful leaflet summarising existing rules (the "Drone Code") which you can find here.
2022
