A Maryland lawyer has sued the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), asking that the agency’s new drone registration regulations be annuled.

According to the petition for review filed December 24, 2015 at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, John Taylor is a "model aircraft hobbyist" who owns "one or more small unmanned hobby aircraft" and intends on acquiring more. He does not describe himself as a drone owner in the brief, nor would he confirm himself as such in a conversation with Ars. However, a profile on DIYDrones.com corresponds to his name and location.

In the case, Taylor asks that the appellate court cancel the new registration system that began on December 21. Taylor argues that the new rule is in violation of Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, which states that the agency may not create new rules if such model aircraft are "flown strictly for hobby or recreational use." If he is indeed a drone owner, then the suit would seem to turn on whether the courts consider drones and traditional model aircraft as distinct from one another.

As Ars reported late last year, registration is legally required by February 19, 2016. The rule applies retroactively, so even someone who operated an unmanned aircraft prior to December 21 must register by the deadline. Anyone purchasing a drone after December 21, 2015 must register before the first outdoor flight.

Why is Taylor so devoted to halting this rule?

"I did this out of desperation—it creates a burden on hobbyists that Congress did not want to create," he told Ars.

The FAA has yet to formally respond to the suit.

“Registration is a statutory requirement that applies to all aircraft," Les Dorr, an FAA spokesman, told Ars by e-mail. "We won't comment on the merits of threatened or pending litigation."