Sponsored by TrafficDude and VideoSecrets, the program kicked off with an in-depth legal panel, entitled “Legal Fact or Fiction: A Hard Look at Today's Legal Realities.”
Moderated by Tom Hymes, the panel featured a roundup of some of the adult industry’s most distinguished attorneys, including JD Obenberger; Greg Piccionelli; Jeffrey Douglas; Lou Sirkin; Clyde DeWitt and Roger Wilcox.
“In a volatile business environment when many companies are exploring new ways of doing business, having a grasp on legal realities is not only necessary it's smart,” stated the show’s promoters. “Whether you are planning on expanding, acquiring, partnering or exploring options, this session will provide you with vital legal insight.”
While a variety of pressing issues such as intellectual property rights, the vagaries of community standards in a wired world and the preservation of records even in the event of nuclear war were all discussed; it was the recent changes to ‘2257 which expectedly garnered the most attention.
Although the panelists acknowledged that there was much for the industry to like about the new regulations, the importance of not fully complying was termed “suicidal” with concerns ranging from specific issues to be contested in the courts to the level of liability a producer might face if a 3rd party record-keeper failed in its obligations.
It was veteran adult attorney Lou Sirkin who summed up the best bottom-line legal advice that anyone in the industry can receive: “it all comes down to what you are willing to go to bat to defend.”
Following the seminar, a succulent BBQ luncheon sponsored by Dating Gold allowed for interesting discussions on the legal topics that were earlier delved into and beyond — discussions that often led to the topic of the day’s next presentation.
Entitled “Agenda of the New U.S. Administration,” the day’s next panel featured Washington insiders assessing the political scene to reveal the various approaches that the Federal government may take towards the industry.
Moderated by ASACP CEO Joan Irvine, the panel featured Diane Duke of the Free Speech Coalition along with FSC lobbyist Ignacio Hernandez; attorney Greg Piccionelli; Laura Rodriguez of the Raben Group and attorney Michael DeSanctis of Jenner & Block.
“Will the adult entertainment industry see a real difference with the Obama Administration than it did from either W. Bush's or Clinton's?” the show’s hosts asked. “Can we expect to see laws and regulations that protect free speech, or is it really all about the Supreme Court?”
“We are at an incredible crossroads as an industry,” Piccionelli opined, setting the tone for a discussion of how adult operators can become more involved in the political process and work to influence lawmakers.
With the new President being a Constitutional scholar who is outwardly surrounding himself with advisors having similar legal beliefs, the opportunity to operate our legal, Constitutionally-protected enterprises seems all but assured; with a noted distancing from morality-based legislation being a key indicator of what we may come to expect.
Hernandez stressed the importance of working with local and regional leaders and not just focusing on the national scene — especially for California-based operators.
“Term limits make a revolving door in Sacramento, whereas long-term relationships are easier to form in D.C.,” Hernandez said.
The panelists agreed that it is critical to cultivate these relationships.
The notion of industry legitimization through taxation was dismissed as a means of making the industry “acceptable.” For example, 50,000 people are currently employed in adult entertainment in California alone.
Beyond the role of the industry as tax base and employer in a challenging economy, the many technological contributions the industry has contributed to were also cited as a reason for showing pride in our business.
“Instead of making us 2nd-class citizens, you really should be thanking us for all the cool stuff we do,” Piccionelli offered as a response to our critics.
The final seminar of the day was devoted to “Billing & Banking in a 3.0 World” — but this was no ordinary “billing panel” — this one was focused on a straight-forward bottom line premise: “While dependable payment transactions remain the lifeblood of the industry, many banks around the world are no longer solvent and are closing their doors.”
“Banking in a high-risk industry is less dependable than it used to be,” the hosts stated. “Add in the newest aggressive billing methods and the issue of billing moves front and center.”
Moderated by Tom Hymes, the renowned panel of payment processing insiders included Jeff Thaler of Epoch; Bjorn Skarlen of Commerce Gate; Ron Cadwell of CCBill; Mitch Farber of Netbilling; Steve Bryson of OrbitalPay; and Dean Slover of GTBill — whom all set about the task of defining the online adult billing landscape for the year ahead and beyond, from their own particular perspectives.
“The real danger to adult is not the tubes; it’s in hybrid cross-sells,” Cadwell said, as he outlined the problems that everyone from MasterCard to the Federal Trade Commission is trying to solve.
“These rules are not new, they’re just now being enforced,” Farber said. “This is not ‘cross-sells,’ ‘up-sells’ or whatever you want to call it — it’s credit card fraud.”
Skarlen summed up the simple solution to customer billing complaints and confusions: “You have to make sure the customer knows what he’s being charged for.”
The discussion turned to the importance of customer service, the value of retention and the growth in the international sector.
Cadwell cited “constant communications with the card associations” as key to the billing companies being able to continue to operate in the best interests of the industry.
“Don’t worry about what your neighbors are doing, worry about what you’re doing,” Cadwell concluded.
If the facts, figures and insider opinions that were shared at this series of seminars are any indication of the overall value of the XBIZ experience to attendees, then the rest of this long-awaited summit of industry leaders will be truly spectacular indeed.
