Legal challenges to aerial drone technology in the oil and gas industry
James LawrencePiper Alderman.
The APPEA Journal 56(2) 616-616 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15122
Published: 2016
Abstract
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has grown exponentially across a host of sectors in the past year, with the oil and gas industry at the forefront of that charge. UAVs can provide real-time vision and data collection from previously inaccessible vantage points, along with reducing time and effort when applied to tasks that previously required costly solutions. Pipeline inspections monitoring, theft and damage using UAVs is possible due to the ability to cover large distances as well as offering imaging and sensor technology. Similarly, UAVs have the ability to provide accurate, close-up views of offshore oil platforms, providing operators with immediate inspection to areas otherwise available only with difficulty. On-board emission and heat sensors offer wide-ranging assistance to operators, particularly in the context of leak detection and flare stack inspection.
Along with this growth comes the need to ensure legal compliance and adequate insurance coverage. The insurance industry is leading the charge through fostering the development of industry standards designed to set a benchmark in UAV operation. Increasing use of UAVs has already caught the eye of federal regulators. For example, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia will soon release revised regulations around commercial use of UAVs, and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to release similar regulations in early 2016.
This extended abstract focuses on the legal challenges associated with the ever-expanding application of UAVs to the oil and gas industry.
James Lawrence is a Partner in Piper Alderman’s Intellectual Property and Technology division, based in the Sydney office, which he joined in 2014. He previously worked at King & Wood Mallesons for 10 years and Wragge & Co LLP in London for two years. James advises across all areas of intellectual property with an emphasis on IP litigation (particularly in the pharmaceutical sector), patents (infringement and validity), copyright, brand protection, trade secrets, intellectual property management, and legislation and policy. He has experience in managing teams of solicitors in long-running and complex litigation. He also advises on commercial matters, including in relation to structuring and drafting IP and know-how licensing arrangements and franchising agreements. James is the editor of the patents chapter in Halsbury’s Laws of Australia, and regularly publishes and presents on intellectual property issues. |
