Key Takeaways
- The FAA’s final rule for drone operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), Part 108, has been under White House review since July 10, 2026, and the FAA has said it hopes to publish by the end of the year.
- Part 108 would replace case-by-case waivers with a standardized framework, likely accelerating scaled drone delivery, inspection, and agricultural operations.
- Because the rule sets common performance requirements, drone companies may converge on similar technical solutions, making early and well-drafted patent filings increasingly valuable.
On July 10, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sent its final Part 108 rule, titled “Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations,” to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review, one of the last steps before publication.[1] Once in effect, the rule may allow drone operators to fly routinely beyond the operator’s line of sight without seeking individual FAA approval for each operation.
Under the current rules, most commercial drones must stay within the operator’s visual line of sight, and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights generally require case-by-case waivers or exemptions. The FAA and TSA proposed Part 108 in August 2025 to provide “a predictable and clear pathway for safe, routine, and scalable UAS operations.”[2]
The proposed rule would establish two tiers of authorization: permits for lower-risk activities such as package delivery, agriculture, and aerial surveying; and certificates for more complex operations involving larger aircraft or fleets.[3] It would also create a new Part 146 under which the FAA would authorize automated data service providers to offer services such as strategic deconfliction and conformance monitoring.[4]
The push to finalize the rule has come from Executive Order 14307, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” which directed the FAA to issue a final BVLOS rule within 240 days, a deadline that passed in early 2026.[5] With the rule now at OIRA, publication could come at any time.
A standardized regulatory framework may be a significant benefit for drone operators, but it may also intensify competition. When every operator must satisfy the same performance requirements (for example, yielding to crewed aircraft, detecting cooperative and non-cooperative traffic in certain airspace, and integrating with deconfliction services), companies may converge on similar technical approaches.[6] For companies developing these converging technologies, the period before the final rule is published may be critical. Once the rule’s requirements become public and the market begins to scale, competitors may file on similar solutions, and the field may become crowded quickly. Drone companies may take several steps now to position their patent portfolios for this more competitive landscape.
Drone companies may consider filing on technologies designed to meet Part 108’s anticipated requirements before the rule is finalized and competitors respond to it. Filing early can help establish a filing date before competitors move to file on their technologies, and it may also help avoid disclosure issues that arise when companies demonstrate or publicize their technology to operators, investors, and regulators.
Beyond protecting their own innovations, companies planning to scale operations under the new framework may also benefit from reviewing the patent landscape before deploying. As more operators converge on similar technologies, the risk of infringement disputes may grow, and a freedom-to-operate analysis may help identify potential issues before they become costly.
Finally, because Part 108 relies on industry consensus standards for airworthiness acceptance, companies whose technology becomes part of those standards may hold significant leverage, as others may not be able to adopt the standard without permission from the intellectual property owner.[7]
Part 108 may mark the transition of commercial drones from a waiver-driven niche to a routine part of the national airspace. As the final rule nears publication, drone manufacturers and software developers should consider how their intellectual property strategy aligns with the new framework. Companies that secure protection for their core technologies now may be best positioned to compete, license, and lead as the industry scales.
[1] https://www.skydronenews.com/news/part-108-oira-review.html
[2] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/07/2025-14992/normalizing-unmanned-aircraft-systems-beyond-visual-line-of-sight-operations
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/unleashing-american-drone-dominance/
[6] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/07/2025-14992/normalizing-unmanned-aircraft-systems-beyond-visual-line-of-sight-operations
[7] Id.
Subscribe for News and Updates
