Porn Valley Observed: Home of Gram Ponante, America's Beloved Porn Journalist

There is a place in the porn world for lawyers (there is also a place in Hell, but that's not the point I'm trying to make).

There's L.A. public defender Ron Miller (aka Don Hollywood), there's a host of attorneys who date porn stars, and then there is the small group of First Amendment attorneys who have had nothing but work, work, work in the recent spate of 2257 and obscenity charges.

So German "Lawyer by Day, Domina by Night" Hera is nothing new, but her book, Hera: Rechtsanwaltin am Tage - Domina in oer Nacht, has contributed to her porn career, as the fetish crowd are big readers. They also like coffee table books, as those leave the most distinctive bruises.

It would be tempting to ask which tactics Hera employs as a mistress also make appearances in her day job, but that would be too easy; let's just hope "Guilty" isn't her safeword.

See more here.

I mention Max Hardcore because the Altadena resident was just found guilty of ten counts of distributing obscene materials. It is a ridiculous conviction, especially in that the material was not sent unbidden. Hardcore is free on bail and will be sentenced in Tampa on September 5. He will, of course, appeal. Read my story on Fleshbot here.

Previously: Life in a porn dorm isn't all pillowfights and orgies
See also: AEBN

Labels: aebn, BDSM, fetish, germans, germany, hera

LOS ANGELES - PornoTube, a web site where individuals and companies upload pornographic materials for free public viewing, has been sued by Vivid Video for copyright infringement.

Vivid attorney Paul Cambria is seeking no less than $4.5 million.

Mirroring a March, 2007 suit filed by Viacom against YouTube, Vivid's suit against Pornotube.com, whose parent company is North Carolina's adult Internet content provider and portal AEBN, alleges that PornoTube's "business plan depends on the uploading, posting, display and performance of copyrighted audio-visual works belonging to Vivid and others."

The suit also seeks damages for seemingly opposing factors: infringing the privacy of Vivid performers who did not give permission for their images to be broadcast on PornoTube, and not providing access to 2257 documentation that would reveal those performers' real names and birthdates.

While the privacy invasion charge seems like a high-minded facade on the more down and dirty reality of copyright infringement, the suit can be distilled into a single line of dialogue: "We paid for it; you shouldn't be making money from it."

Vivid's suit might have a chilling effect on services like PornoTube, whose site claims that it takes copyright infringement "very seriously":

"We provide legal copyright owners with the ability to self-publish on the internet by uploading, storing and displaying various media utilizing our services. We do not monitor, screen or otherwise review the media which is uploaded to our servers by users of the service."

Indeed, PornoTube often removes videos posted by non-copyright holders. It even offers a form for plaintiffs to use if they spot copyright infringement. Clearly Vivid did not find the form helpful.

Other adult companies, like Wicked and Red Light District, have content on PornoTube that entices viewers to purchase the full-length movies, or higher-resolution scenes. But Vivid has no such deal with AEBN, and Cambria said that Vivid's material has been on PornoTube regardless.

“Vivid has already found dozens of violations of its copyrights, and AEBN needs to know that it cannot continue pilfering Vivid’s products no matter how they might reformat or reshape (them)." Cambria said. "Once they put up any material on their site and fit it into their format, they are no longer just a ‘pass through’ medium—they have become producers or distributors under the law.”

AEBN has not yet responded to the lawsuit, filed this morning in the Los Angeles/Western Division of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Previously: Legal or Easy? ; Law would make jailbird photos off limits
See also: Vivid, PornoTube

Labels: aebn, legal, vivid