B.V.D.’s and Other Legal Briefs
Chicken Little starring Cockey Lockey does indeed sound like it could be the latest twink DVD sensation to make its way to the video-on-demand theaters on the Internet in the ultimate pornification of art imitating life. Though the plausibility of the title and the stage name could be mistaken for a legitimate headline in this very publication, they are simply fabrications of this writer’s mind. The original Chicken Little, along with Henny Penny, Foxy Loxy, and, yes, Cockey Lockey, first appeared in the famous cautionary fable on the dangerous consequences of jumping to conclusions.
The story spans the centuries from its first appearance in the Jataka Tales of Buddhist Indian folklore to the nickname of one of the contestants of season five of American Idol. After the recent publication of the proposed changes to §2257 regulations and 4472 rules, message boards, industry blogs, and conference seminars are filled with a fresh dose of hysterical Nostradamus-infused doomsday scenarios often more apocryphal than they are factual. As to what ultimately becomes written into laws that govern the operations of adult Internet sites is still anyone’s guess. The surest way to stack the odds in your favor to ensure your company survives a shake-up by whatever meteors — litigious or otherwise — bombard it is to give your business the most solid legal, professional structure in all areas. In other words, B.V.D.: Be Very Diligent.
When applied to business practices, or as it pertains to legal matters, “due diligence” is the effort made by an extraordinarily prudent and/or exceptionally reasonable party to avoid harm to another party. When it comes to being both extraordinary and exceptional, few wear the mantle with such aplomb as one of the brightest legal stars in our industry (and even better, he is also a proud member of our own gay community), Chad Belville, Esquire.
Specializing in adult entertainment, Internet and contract law as well as both compliance and criminal defense, Belville is legal counsel to some of the most well-known gay adult companies professionally, and a friend to almost all of us personally.
“I think the biggest mistakes are made because new webmasters do not treat the adult industry like a business,” he relates. “Getting a good accountant and tax professional is crucial as well.”
Our technology-driven industry has evolved at light speed. Compared to the complexities of social networking and the interactivity demanded in Web 2.0, the reality of starting out even five years ago seems like the Wild West by comparison.
“No longer can someone quickly put together a website and start making money. It now requires a significant investment in time and enough start-up capital money for content, hosting, SEO, programming, etc., plus a cohesive and well-formulated business plan to keep you on track along the way,” Belville added.
It is not only the freshman class that stumbles. There are plenty of juniors and seniors who could likewise benefit by auditing a “Business 101” course they may have skipped initially.
“Seasoned webmasters who do not get things in writing often do not find out it is a mistake until it is too late,” Belville states. “Verbal agreements do have their place. But sometimes, with the lack of any formal documentation, if things don’t turn out right, then you have nothing to fall back on.”
The looming question of the moment, no matter how long you have been in the industry, is what recently proposed regulations really mean now and in the future.
“Go about your business as you have, make sure all the content you display is within compliance, and enjoy being a champion of free expression,” Belville offers. He goes on to say “this is not the time to panic; it’s time to pay close attention. Do not substitute the posts on a message board for the advice of an informed professional.”
It is as foolish to ignore current guidelines and pretend this will all go away with a new administration come November of 2008 as it is to buy into the knee-jerk-induced jihad to move all operations immediately off-shore. Since the crystal balls of gay porn are generally found ensconced in either a bulging pouch of a leather jock or a hot mouth in a sizzling closeup, they are of no help in telling what the future holds in terms of the rules and regulations that will shape how we do business. After all, if you have your head buried in the sand, you will never see that the sky isn’t falling.
