Time limitations prevented moderator and XBIZ World Editor in Chief Quentin Boyer from expounding upon some topics as deeply as he might have wished, but considering the number of people on the panel and the time alloted, a great deal of valuable information was delivered in a very short period of time.
Panelists were Rob Apgood from CarpeLaw.com, Clyde DeWitt (who announced his departure from law firm Weston, Garrou, DeWitt & Walters after more than 25 years during the seminar), industry attorney and FSC Board Chair Jeffrey Douglas, Joan Irvine of the ASACP, Canadian attorney Paul Kent-Snowsell, Joe Obenberger of J.D. Obenberger & Associates and Greg Piccionelli of Piccionalli & Sarno.
After brief introductions by everyone, Irvine opened with a short update on ASACP's latest lobbying efforts during a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where she participated at a conference alongside corporate behemoths like Comcast and AT&T. There are 30 bills pending in the House and Senate that deal with child protection, she said, which is why ASACP's message to legislators that 99.9% of all CP reports have nothing to do with the adult industry is such a vital one.
Kent-Snowsell spoke next and gave an overview of the profound differences between Canadian and U.S. law with respect to adult content. Without delving into the depressing details, suffice to say that Canada by and large takes a more permissive European attitude toward adult content.
Canada has no 2257 law, Kent-Snowsell said, but also no Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), no Patriot Act, and basically no obscenity laws to speak of, unless the Crown can prove that the content in question impedes the proper function of society.
"We don't have the moral overtones regarding pornography," he said.
Rob Apgood spoke next, and updated the audience on some current Can-Spam-related adult cases that could impact the liability that sponsors accrue for the actions of their affiliates.
"The government has not been faring well [in these cases]," Apgood said. "They are having a hard time proving that the affiliate is more than an independent actor and that the program intended for them to send the offending emails on their behalf."
Apgood added that this was another fight on behalf of the industry, and called the unnamed plaintiffs "very courageous."
Jeffrey Douglas then provided a succinct overview of the progress against 2257, citing once again the 6th Circuit decision that found the record keeping and labeling regulations facially unconstitutional., and bringing the audience up to date on the progress of the appeal in that case.
Douglas expressed great enthusiasm that 2257 now faces a challenge that the Justice Department and Congress will be hard pressed to address without severely weakening the current iteration of the law. He also pointed to last year's public 2257 comment period as an example of a serious hurdle that the government will have to deal with before moving forward. Since Congress is legally required to employ the least burdensome methods to achieve its regulatory goals, the extreme extent of the current burden as provided in those public comments will have to be addressed in substance.
J.D. Obenberger then took the mike to explain the current state of obscenity cases around the country, citing cases in Florida, Kansas, Utah, Los Angles, Arizona and even New York City, where a "New York Svengali" who had been making BDSM content was found guilty of forced labor and sex trafficking but not guilty on an obscenity charge.
"What happens off-camera counts too," Obenberger warned.
He also said that there will be more obscenity cases this year, and reminded people that laws are bipartisan. The implication there was perhaps that it would be a mistake to assume that the Democrats are friends of the industry.
Clyde DeWitt opened his segment with yet another trademark standout comment.
"Canada doesn't have the Patriot Act," he said, referring back to Kent-Snowsell's comments," and they didn't invade Iraq either." The joke got a big laugh from the audience.
DeWitt, who's newfound freedom as a attorney seemed to leave him lighter and more jovial than ever, weighed in on 2257 and Can-Spam before providing the audience with an excellent if brief primer on sound business practices with respect to legal matters.
"Don't try to fill your own teeth," he said. "As part of your business plan, you have to invest in a CPA, an insurance agent and a lawyer." In the end, he said, those acquisitions will result in saved money and a more secure business.
Greg Piccionelli spoke last but certainly not least. He warned that the upcoming presidential election is changing the landscape for the Bush Administration.
"The [political] playing field is going to increasingly focus on protecting kids," he said. "I encourage all of you to support the FSC and ASACP, because these organizations are going to become more important than ever."
He also has a strong warning about last year's Adam Walsh Bill, especially a provision that requires all states to develop new sex offender classifications by July 2009 or lose 10% of their federal funding. In many states, he said, the religious right has been successful in lobbying to have people convicted of "pandering obscenity" charges reclassified as sex offenders.
That would mean that mere adult book store clerks, for instance, who are swept up in a raid would find themselves branded as sex offenders, a development that should be of extreme concern to everyone in the industry.
The seminar closed out with a few audience questions, with good answers by an esteemed panel that covered a lot of ground with expertise and enthusiasm.
