Drones, Airspace Design, and Aerial Law in States and Cities

Federal and state governments have embraced drone technology in recent years to stimulate a domestic industry for new jobs and long-distance delivery services. However, the federal-state breakdown about who manages drone airspace and surface air rights has not been resolved, which, as the Government Accountability Office recently reported to Congress, threatens the progress of the U.S. drone industry. What is clear is that landowners, whether public or private, own low-altitude airspace and air rights. This article traces the legal treatment of surface airspace as real property back to Anglo-American legal treatises and court decisions in the mid-19th century. Therefore, absent a revolution in property and government takings law, state and city authorities will play a major role in demarcating drone highways, as well as creating time, place, and manner restrictions such as time-of-day rules, noise maximums, and privacy protections. This paper proposes a cooperative federalism system of airspace leasing above public roads to avoid most nuisance, trespass, and takings lawsuits from residents. Finally, this paper proposes a legal presumption for courts, establishing an altitude where private air rights end and federally managed airspace begins

Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Innovation through Regulatory Democratization

[Excerpt] Entrepreneurship provides a path to prosperity for many people. In particular, women and minorities prefer entrepreneurship as their path to achieve the American Dream. In their striving, their startups and small businesses benefit our entire society. Entrepreneurial innovation has a positive impact on social welfare. For these reasons, the federal government has implemented numerous policies designed to support small businesses and promote startup innovation

Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Innovation Through Regulatory Democratization

Law and economics scholars agree that business regulations have a disproportionately negative impact on entrepreneurship and innovation. It would be a significant problem indeed if the very nature of regulation inhibits this kind of growth and creativity. This view of the problem suggests that the only way to increase innovation would be to decrease regulation. Yet this view is too general. When examined more closely, all regulations are not created equal. Regulations can be formulated as rules or standards, and they can be simple or complex. Moreover, some rules are easily understood by computers and are thus suitable for automated processes. Different types of rules have different impacts on entrepreneurship and innovation. This Article is based on interviews with over one hundred startups regarding the impact of regulation on innovation. It identifies six cases of startups that invented ways to make certain kinds of regulations relatively affordable for many small businesses to comply with. These new uses of technology are examples of “regulatory democratization” because they open access to regulated industries for small business. Regulatory democratization increases competition and levels the playing field between small and large firms in highly regulated industries. Regulatory democratization sheds new light on other proposals that are intended to spur entrepreneurial innovation. Regulatory sandboxes—where regulators give select companies the freedom to operate beyond regulatory boundaries—may counterintuitively inhibit innovation by preferencing large firms over small ones. Tax credits for entrepreneurs, on the other hand, can be designed to drive innovation. The key takeaway is that regulations can be smarter and more compatible with entrepreneurial innovation

General aviation environment

The background, development, and relationship, among economic factors, airworthiness, costs, and environment protection are examined. Government regulations for airports, air agencies, aircraft, and airmen are reviewed

Vista D2.1 Supporting Data for Business and Regulatory Scenarios Report

Vista examines the effects of conflicting market forces on European performance in ATM, through the evaluation of impact metrics on four key stakeholders, and the environment. The review of regulatory and business factors is presented. Vista will model the current and future (2035, 2050) framework based on the impact of regulatory and business factors. These factors are obtained from a literature review of regulations, projects and technological and operational changes. The current value of those factors and their possible evolution are captured in this deliverable

Análisis estratégico del mercado de transporte aéreo de pasajeros en España

Trabajo de fin de Grado. Grado en Administración y Dirección de Empresas. Curso académico 2018-2019[EN] According to reference reports from expert agents, the passenger air transport market is currently in a process of expansion. IATA forecasts are very positive and air traffic could double in just twenty years. However, there are serious doubts as to whether airlines will be able to cope with this exponential market growth if they continue following their current business models. The objective of this project is precisely to provide a detailed assessment of the situation in which the Spanish market is, from a holistic perspective (strategic, commercial and financial-accounting points of view). The analysis should be conducted bearing in mind the extensive and complex regulation of the sector, which in turn conditions any of the actions taken by agents. With this objective in mind, various research methodologies have been applied It is worthwhile noting that an expert panel was consulted and that a customer perception survey was carried out. In addition, for the analysis of the data, numerous sources from both governmental and relevant associations have been used, such as ICAO or IATA. On the other hand, market operators will face numerous challenges in the near future in several areas. Thus, innovation, environment, competition, fleet management, strategic positioning or globalization are just some of the main issues that will be on the table in the meetings held by airlines’ Boards of Directors. In any case, there is no doubt that, given the dynamism of the market, companies will have to make efforts constantly if they want to maintain their position. In this sense, there are areas of improvement in terms of management efficiency, as well as market development opportunities, which are still in the design process.[ES] Atendiendo a los informes emitidos por agentes de referencia, el mercado de transporte aéreo de pasajeros se encuentra en pleno proceso de expansión. Las previsiones de la IATA son muy positivas y el tráfico aéreo podría duplicarse en apenas veinte años. Sin embargo, existen dudas relevantes acerca de la capacidad de las aerolíneas para hacer frente a este crecimiento exponencial del mercado si mantienen su modelo de negocio actual. El objetivo de este trabajo es, precisamente, analizar en qué situación se encuentra el mercado español desde una visión holística (perspectivas estratégica, comercial y financiera-contable), sin olvidar nunca la profusa y compleja regulación legal del sector que condiciona todas las acciones que llevan a cabo sus agentes. Para ello, se han aplicado diversas metodologías de investigación, destacando la realización de paneles de expertos y una encuesta de percepción de los consumidores. Además, para el análisis de los datos, se han usado numerosas fuentes tanto de carácter gubernamental como de asociaciones de relevancia, tales como la ICAO o la IATA. Por otro lado, las operadoras del mercado tendrán que hacer frente a numerosos retos en un futuro cercano en varias áreas. Así, innovación, medio ambiente, competencia, mantenimiento de la flota, posicionamiento estratégico o globalización son sólo algunos de los temas que estarán encima de la mesa de los Consejos de Administración de las aerolíneas. En cualquier caso, dado el dinamismo del mercado, no cabe ninguna duda de que, si quieren mantener su posición en él, tendrán que realizar constantes esfuerzos de mejora. En este sentido, hay importantes áreas de desarrollo en términos de eficiencia en la gestión, así como en relación con las oportunidades de desarrollo de mercado, las cuales, hoy en día, aún se encuentran en proceso de diseño

Is the Sky the Limit?: Patent Implications of Discoveries Made in Outer Space

It has been less than a century since space flight was the province of science fiction. For the first fifty years of the Space Age, space travel was the exclusive province of national governments. Today, private companies have launched rockets that carry experiments and cargo to the International Space Station and have recently announced plans to explore the moon and planets. While perhaps only a footnote in this story of incredible scientific achievement, the evolution of space travel has implications for law in general, and patent law in particular. The possibility of discovering useful materials or technology in space was recognized early in the space era, but the consequences for patentability did not receive attention until much later (and even now have been addressed incompletely). When only governments had the capability of space exploration, patentability was largely irrelevant. That is no longer the case—and it changes everything. This article focuses on the impact on patentability of earthbound inventions and the extent to which activities in space should affect patentability of inventions made on Earth

Towards a smart and sustainable single European transport area : an assessment of the past 10 years of EU regulation

For more than a decade, hundreds of experts have gathered at the hills overlooking Florence to analyse the evolution of European transport policy and regulation at the call of the Florence School of Regulation (FSR). This book reflects the discussions in Florence, and more broadly, it documents the evolution of transport regulation in the European Union. The purpose of this book is to share the knowledge we at FSR Transport have built as privileged observers by bringing to the forefront the most interesting pieces in our “Observers”. In particular, we have selected the more relevant valuative pieces opening our Observers over the last decade whilst organising them according to the topic they address in four different blocks. We open with the rail block, as rail was the original topic of most of our Forums. Aviation has also received a lot of our attention, and in particular, Air Traffic Management and the Single European Sky, which in turn, have their own dedicated sub-block. We close with a block on intermodality, which has drawn increasing attention. The texts have not been edited for the book other than minor temporal references to improve readability. We have included as opening pieces our “Manifesto for the Next Five Years of EU Regulation of Transport”, published in November 2019 ahead of the start of the von der Leyen Commission’s mandate, and an update for a post-COVID-19 recovery, published in June 2020. In these documents, a more comprehensive vision of the challenges in EU transport regulation is provided.-- Introduction -- PART I : Towards a Smart and Sustainable Single European Transport Area -- Manifesto for the Next Five Years of EU -- Regulation of Transport -- Manifesto for a post-COVID-19 Recovery Towards Smarter and More Sustainable Transport -- PART II : Railways as the Backbone of the European Transport System -- Modal Shift: The Moment of Truth. Main Takeaways and Lessons Learnt from the European Year of Rail -- Building a European Railway Network for Long-Distance Passenger Services -- State Aid in a Sustainable and Smart Railway Ecosystem -- From National Railway Infrastructures to a Pan-European Freight Network -- How to Revitalise Rail Freight with Digitalisation? -- Green Finance and Sustainability: Is there a Space for Railways? -- What is Wrong with European Rail Freight? -- Private Financing of European Railway Infrastructure? -- Competition in the Passenger Railways in Europe -- Railways in the Age of Digitalisation? -- Competition in the Railway Passenger Market -- Security: Rail is NOT Air! -- Regulating the Performance of European Railways: What can we learn from Air Transport? -- The Digital Single European Railway Area: How to Think it? -- Rail Freight Corridors: The Challenges Ahead -- The 4th Railway Package: Further Challenges for the Regulator -- Financing Railways: What Role for Regulation? -- PART III - Aviation: Facing the Dual Challenges of Decarbonisation and Competitiveness -- A Resilient European Aviation Market: Lessons Learnt -- What Role for Competition Rules when Restarting Aviation? -- Decarbonising Aviation…but how? -- Airports as ‘Enablers’ for the Aviation Sector’s Take-Off Towards Net-Zero Carbon Emissions -- Air Services Regulation: Some Need for Review -- Navigating Towards a More Efficient Airport Slots Allocation Regime in Europe -- PART IV - Modernising European Air Traffic Management -- The European Economic Regulator, a Catalyst for an overdue Change in ATM Governance -- Context and History of Air Traffic Management Data Services -- What can Air Traffic Management Learn From Electricity? -- Incentivising the Evolution Towards Interoperability -- How to Better Align the Performance Scheme? -- Air Traffic Management: Why a Technological Disruption is needed – and why it is coming -- Regulating Drones: What is the Right Approach? -- Which Governance for SESAR Deployment? -- From Single European Sky Gridlock to Air Traffic Control Markets to Evolving the Role of EUROCONTROL -- PART V - When the Modes Come Together: Towards Increasingly Intermodal Transport Regulation -- Multimodal Ticketing: What Kind of Regulation is Necessary? -- How to Think the Greening of European Cargo Operations? -- Placing Governance Considerations at the Core of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators’ Design Process -- COVID-19: An Opportunity to Redesign Mobility Towards Greater Sustainability and Resilience? -- Integrated Multimodal Ticketing Will Not Happen Without Clear Rules About Data Sharing -- Pricing, Regulation and Rethinking of Mobility Needs is Required for Transport to Fully Account for its External Costs -- Obstacles on the Road to the European Single Market for Road Transport -- In the Era of Digitalisation and in Order to Achieve an Intermodal Level Playing Field, do we Need to Regulate? -- Mobility-As-A-Service: From the Regulation of Transport as a Sector to the Regulation of Transport as a Service? -- Low-Cost Air and High-Speed Rail: An Untapped Potential for Complementarity

Blockchain-assisted UAV communication systems: a comprehensive survey

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have recently established their capacity to provide cost-effective and credible solutions for various real-world scenarios. UAVs provide an immense variety of services due to their autonomy, mobility, adaptability, and communications interoperability. Despite the expansive use of UAVs to support ground communications, data exchanges in those networks are susceptible to security threats because most communication is through radio or Wi-Fi signals, which are easy to hack. While several techniques exist to protect against cyberattacks. Recently emerging technology blockchain could be one of promising ways to enhance data security and user privacy in peer-to-peer UAV networks. Borrowing the superiorities of blockchain, multiple entities can communicate securely, decentralized, and equitably. This article comprehensively overviews privacy and security integration in blockchain-assisted UAV communication. For this goal, we present a set of fundamental analyses and critical requirements that can help build privacy and security models for blockchain and help manage and support decentralized data storage systems. The UAV communication system's security requirements and objectives, including availability, authentication, authorization, confidentiality, integrity, privacy, and non-repudiation, are thoroughly examined to provide a deeper insight. We wrap up with a discussion of open research challenges, the constraints of current UAV standards, and potential future research directions