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Hey everyone,
I'm in Canada but I guess that an answer from someone in the states could also help me.
Is it legal to "sell a porn shoot" ? (i.e. if someone pays to watch a shoot, is that legal?)
If so, under what condition? If not, are there any exceptions? (i.e. if it's artistic, if it's solo, etc)
I understand that I most likely need a lawyer, but I was just wondering if anyone here ever researched this already.
Thanks guys.
In some states it is ok, if there is no booze.....
I would do some investigation within Canada because you have some laws we don't have, such as the requirements for submission to the provincial film board. I wouldn't assume that US laws would necessarily be analogous to your situation.
Somewhere around here, I have a business card for a barrister in BC that specializes in free speech/adult issues. If you need, I can probably dig up his info.
Actually Chip, if you could find the business card that would really be awesome. I was trying to push back meeting a lawyer out of budget constraints but I'm starting to be squeezed by time now...
in all seriousness, if you can't afford $500 to talk to a lawyer, you certainly can't afford the legal issues that can come at you if you unknowingly break the law.
btw, selling a porn shoot would mean to sell it to another webmaster or site. making your shoot available for others to watch does not mean you are selling it.
Well, you know how startups are Basschick... bootstrapping puts pressure on business decisions. This one is hard to ignore though.
And, to clarify, I am not talking about selling to another webmaster or site. I am talking about selling the experience of SEEING a real porn shoot unfold, to an invidual to be there and see how it's done...
while i understood this, it's not called selling.
are you talking about paying per view or as part of a membership site?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Billaboy
Ahhh ok, Sorry, thought you didn't understood.
But, in resume, it wouldn't be part of a membership site. It would be me, selling an experience to an individual. I tell them the location, they go there, we show them how the shoot is done... the customer would be *present*, not just watching through the internet...
Didn't find his business card, but I remembered enough of his name that a little Google digging tracked him down.Quote:
Originally Posted by Billaboy
Paul G. Kent-Snowsell
adultlaw.ca
3855 Henning Drive St. #208
Burnaby, BC V5C6N, Canada
Phone: (604) 298-5297 (Ext. 22)
As an added bonus, according to his website, he comes highly recommended by JD Obenberger, certainly one of the "top shelf" names in US adult industry law.
I remember speaking to him briefly about some Canadian issues we were having after a legal panel at Internext a few years back. Extremely friendly and open with his information, and had that great combination of confidence without arrogance that's so difficult to find in attorneys.
It sounds like what you're talking about would be governed (in the US) under laws relating to live sex shows. I would honestly suggest that you talk to Mr. Kent-Snowsell or someone else intimately familiar with Canadian federal law and perhaps provincial and local government regulations as well... it sounds like you're actually in even dicier territory doing that than you would be in shooting adult content, because you're arguably operating a sex club of sorts (or at least a place where people come to watch live sex acts for money), which in the US would probably be treated very differently than filming adult content between consenting individuals.Quote:
Originally Posted by Billaboy