Commercial License Questions!

[Meta4]

I can't find it at the moment but it's somewhere in the CASA rules.
I was surprised when I saw it

I've searched and can't find it.
I'd be surprised if they actually say that.

Not sure
It says "in some cases" but doesn't say which cases

Big Al was talking about the FAA and you are talking about CASA
This explains the FAA's take on Youtube: Operating for Free? P3S

As far as I know CASA have never indicated they consider Youtube submissions to constitute commercial use.

 

[Phill2]

On this page Drone Laws in Australia - We explain CASA CASR 101 laws for RPAS in Australia

You will find

If you are not making any commercial gain from your flying, then you may fly your UAV without requiring certification (please note however that “commercial gain” can include flights for advertising purposes or even uploading videos to YouTube – there does not have to be a direct payment involved). The following restrictions apply for uncertified flying:

I thought it was on the CASA page but I've looked at so many rules I got confused and yes these are for Australia not the US

 

[Richard R]

The ONLY way (in light of comments and such from the last year) I can see YouTube being a problem is if the YouTube video is promoting a company/business/product. Simply taking videos and posting them on YouTube (even if you monetize them) was declared "Ok" last year or early this year.

But that doesn't mean that if you have a business and you post YouTube videos promoting yours or another business you get away with it. ANYTHING that could be considering furthering of a business is considered commercial.

Not sure about that. Any type of compensation for or from a video or pictures produce from your drone would likely be considered 'commercial'. I doubt that the government would distinguish between posting something on YouTube and hand delivering a cd to a customer.

 

[Richard R]

I spoke with a public relations rep for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) a couple of weeks ago and they are going to "Strongly Suggest" that all Realtors insist that the companies they work with are in compliance with any and all FAA and State regulations. She said they expect their Realtors to follow all laws and regulations and as such they also expect anyone they do business with to be held to the same high standards.

At one point they were toying with the idea of requiring the Realtor to provide proof that any pictures they submit to MLS were from a company that is compliant with all current regulations. I "think" that fell to the way side of things but it was a consideration several months ago.

Basically if you're going to be doing this for ANY form of compensation you need to step up and do it right. August 29th is right around the corner and at that time Part 107 becomes REAL. As such operating commercially w/o it has very REAL consequences and repercussions. Don't be "that guy" because a few hundred bucks isn't worth the problems and negative press.

here's another issue that people need to consider when thinking about going commercial. Income is income and our buddies at the IRS are going to want their cut! While some income from hobby activities (crafts for example) might get by, by definition, we are getting out of that arena. I would strongly urge people to look into setting up a LLC company or at a minimum get an EIN ( Employer Identity Number) from the IRS. Your customers are going to want to report payments to you as part of their business expense and it just looks more professional to have you paperwork set up. With an LLC, you still report the income on your personal filing, but you can also claim business expenses such a mileage and even the cost of the bird as deductions. I' sure that this will garner comments from people about not telling the IRS, but we have all heard enough horror stories to know that you don't want to mess with them if you don't have to!!

 

[BigAl07]

Not sure about that. Any type of compensation for or from a video or pictures produce from your drone would likely be considered 'commercial'. I doubt that the government would distinguish between posting something on YouTube and hand delivering a cd to a customer.

While your "logic" is solid if you do the research you'll see where the FAA did indeed go back and state publicly that monetized YouTube videos do not in and of itself break the "Commercial" boundary. Here's a link (first one on my google search) that talks about it:
Drone Home Videos No Longer Provoke FAA Wrath

Just to clarify we're not saying "Johnny is allowed to shoot a video for Richard, post it on YouTube and Richard can pay him for it." We're saying it's ok to make a video, post it on YT and allow YT to monetize it by paying per a certain # of clicks.

 

[Northbay Drones]

Hi, lets say you have a 333 exemption.. Can you still fly as a hobbyist? or is that craft considered a commercial only craft? In California you can now fly in state parks, however if you are a commercial pilot you need to get permission. But what if you just want to fly for fun?