Gregory A. Piccionelli
A Look Ahead, Part 2
This is the second in a series of articles in which we take a look ahead at some of the issues and events I believe will be of great interest to adult entertainment businesses in 2012.
A Look Ahead, Part I
The adult entertainment industry was barraged with a lot of legal news this year. The adult industry press reported stories about mass copyright infringement lawsuits, a new crop of patent troll lawsuits, health and safety regulation of adult content production in California, a terrible 2257 decision, a new anti-cross-sale law, and of course the adult industry world war over the any and all things related to the approval of the .xxx TLD registry.
Need for Serious Value in Content
Most adult entertainment business owners know that distributing sexually explicit materials exposes them to the possibility of prosecution for violation of obscenity laws. But while many know that the risk exists, over the years I have found that most distributors of adult content are generally unfamiliar with the obscenity laws themselves and just what constitutes obscenity.
Romney? Perry? 5 Things to Prepare for
It’s the fall of 2011, and the U.S. unemployment rate is at 9.1 percent and the economy appears too many to be heading back into recession. It is not surprising that President Obama’s approval ratings are in the low 40s and sinking. Because of this many operators of adult entertainment companies are (and frankly should be) beginning to grow concerned about the kind of regulatory environment the industry might face if either of the two current republican frontrunners, Mitt Romney or Rick Perry should become the next occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Patent Troll Attacks and Need for Info
Adult entertainment companies are increasingly becoming the target of patent rights enforcement. In the last year alone scores of adult entertainment businesses have either been sued for patent infringement or have received letters threatening patent enforcement.
License to Stream
These days, it seems like barely a week goes by that I do not negotiate or draft an adult content licensing agreement.
The Future of 2257
For several years the adult industry’s legal focus has been on hot button topics like online piracy, and, of course, .XXX. With a Democrat in the White House, adult business owners are understandably less concerned about criminal prosecution than they are about economic survival these days. Because of this, there have been relatively few recent discussions in the industry press about the federal criminal laws known as the 2257 regulations (18 U.S.C. §2257, 18 U.S.C. §2257A and 28 CFR 75 et seq.).
10 FAQs About 2257
Lately, the adult industry’s legal focus has been on hot button topics like online piracy, new laws regulating cross sales and, of course, .XXX. Because of this, there have been relatively few recent discussions in the industry press regarding the federal criminal laws known as the “2257 regulations” (18 U.S.C. § 2257, 18 U.S.C. § 2257A and 28 CFR 75 et seq.). This is unfortunate because the 2257 regulations are very much alive and well, especially after recently surviving the first round of a constitutional challenge brought by the Free Speech Coalition in Pennsylvania in which the court granted the government’s motion to dismiss FSC’s lawsuit.
2257 Performer ID Rules
This article is the third in a series examining the requirements of the federal recordkeeping and labeling laws known as the 2257 regulations as they pertain to current and emerging adult entertainment business models.
2257 Danger Without Obama
Recently a client provided me with an excerpt from an online blog discussing the question of whether a webmaster using explicit sexual materials provided by an affiliate marketing program had any federal recordkeeping or labeling obligations regarding the use of the materials. The laws at issue were, of course, the infamous complex set of regulations set forth at 18 U.S.C. §2257, 18 U.S.C. §2257A and 28 CFR 75, known throughout the adult entertainment industry as the “2257 regulations.”
2257 Regs, Live Chat Performers
Lately, the adult industry’s legal focus has been on hot-button topics like online piracy, new laws regulating cross sales and, of course, .XXX.
New Law Will Ban Certain Internet Sales Practices
The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), which I reported on past June while it was still pending in Congress, was signed into law by President Obama at the end of 2010. It is an important law that, as I cautioned last year, is likely to have a significant impact on the way many Internet retailers conduct business online.
Bittorrent Legal Mania
There have been a lot of news stories in the adult industry press lately about adult content producers filing lawsuits against large numbers of unnamed defendants allegedly infringing their content via peer-to-peer file sharing systems.
Return of the Republicans
It would be fair to say that the adult entertainment industry collectively breathed a sigh of relief at the election of Barack Obama.
7 Content Licensing Tips
Adult entertainment companies are licensing content more often than ever before. The trend, which is accelerating for both content licensors and content licensees, is supported by a number of interrelated factors. One factor is, of course, the declining cost of content due to a content glut resulting from the explosion of producers. Also, helping drive down the value of content is the effect of rampant piracy via the Web. But perhaps more importantly, as a consequence of the glut and rampant piracy, many content producers are realizing that licensing their products as often, and in as many media, as possible, is simply required for sustained profitability in the current economic environment.
The Trademark Basics
In last month’s article, I discussed how an approval of the .XXX top-level domain will likely trigger an avalanche of domain name disputes regarding the registration of .XXX domain name versions of trademarks not owned by .XXX domain registrants
Your Brands and Potential .XXX Cybersquatters
The battle over whether ICANN should approve a new .XXX top-level domain has seemingly reached a fever pitch.
Summer of Really Big Court Decisions
From time to time there are rulings in court cases that dramatically affect the entire adult entertainment industry.
Live Cam Rules (and Regs)
Live adult videoconferencing is big, and getting bigger. Online consumers now purchase enough live cam show minutes to support thousands of regular live cam performers each day.
Meet the New Boss. Same as the Old Boss?
As virtually every veteran adult entertainment businessperson knows, the industry that was formerly characterized as “recession proof”, has been reeling from the combined effects of a depressed economy, rampant piracy and a glut of free legal content. In response, many adult entertainment companies are evolving their business models to meet the challenges presented by the current environment. But in addition to economic pressures, adult companies are now beginning to face new challenges and new opportunities that are presented by whole host of new technologies and technological improvements poised to redefine how adult entertainment is created and monetized, and perhaps, even defined. Innovations such as IPTV, 3D video, 3D worlds, tactile devices, mobile video and mobile location-based apps are already beginning to impact the industry.