Drone film approval could be good news for GoPro

The Federal Aviation Administration will let the production companies fly small drones on closed sets in the US, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorised to discuss the announcement. The companies include Flying-Cam Inc., which has already used drones overseas to capture sequences for the James Bond film “Skyfall.”

Forty other companies have applied for exemptions to fly drones in the US, including Amazon.com Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s BNSF Railway Co. Today’s action would pave the way for interim approvals as formal regulations governing how companies can legally use unmanned aircraft in their businesses are still at least a year away.

The Small UAV Coalition, a Washington-based group, also views the announcement as a “wonderful first step,” Michael Drobac, a lobbyist representing the group, said in an interview. UAV stands for unmanned aerial vehicle. The coalition’s members include Google Inc., which like Amazon is developing a delivery drone, and camera-maker GoPro Inc.

The only concern the coalition’s members have is that some of the flight rules contained in the filmmakers’ applications weren’t released to the public, Drobac, who works at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, said. Other companies want to ensure they understand how FAA-approved drone operations will work for their own applications, he said.

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