Apple Eyes the Drone Market
Apple is pushing further into the growing field of drones and has retained a specialist in drone and aviation to start started lobbying efforts.
The Cupertino, California-based tech giant has retained Lisa Ellman, a parter at Hogan Lovells, to conduct the lobbying, according to a company filing that was made public this week.
Ellman leads the law firm’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems practice. She also co-founded the Commercial Drone Alliance and is working to expand the commercial drone industry.
Apple used drones a few years ago to help it collect mapping data. In December, it met with regulators about a proposed law that would require drones to sport virtual license plates.
Apple has also a team exploring satellites, a type of unmanned aircraft, and Ellman could assist in regulatory efforts that would need to be conducted to launch such an effort.
Apple company spent more than $5.5 million on lobbying in the first three quarters of 2019, according to the latest disclosures to Congress, while Google and Facebook Inc. spent millions more.