Expert: Dan Pepper - 3/23/2009

Question
I have two questions:
1. Is it legal to film pornography in North Carolina?
2. Where can I purchase licensed content for my own adult website?  I'm in the process of creating an adult website.  I've hired a Web Designer/Developer.  I would prefer not to use a pre-packaged website format.  I want to film my own content as well as buy content to post.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Dramace

Answer
Dramace,

I have frequently commented on the "legality" of filming sexually explicit conduct outside of California, but I'll restate my answer again here.

A little bit of background is necessary:

In 1988, the California Supreme Court in a case named People v. Freeman. decided that pandering laws could not be used as a "tool to impose a system of governmental censorship of erotic materials."  Effectively, this means that the production of adult content in California is not pandering on the part of the producer, nor prostitution on the part of the performers.

With the explosion of adult content on the Internet since the 1990s, and the fact that very few pandering or prostitution charges were brought against adult performers or producers, it has generally been assumed that such content could be produced in the U.S. without risking these types of charges.

That being said, no other state in the U.S. has considered the decision in the Freeman case, which means we don't have a definite answer how other states will handle it, except that under limited circumstances in Rhode Island, Nevada and New Hampshire, certain filming is legal.  It is safe to assume that the more conservative jurisdiction you produce your content, the higher your risk.  You can view North Carolina's prostitution laws here:  http://prostitution.procon.org/viewbackgroundresource.asp?ResourceID=754

Additionally, any adult content that is considered "obscene" under the definition of the U.S. Supreme Court, is also prohibited and illegal.  Florida has recently been active in bringing obscenity charges against what is typically been considered "extreme" content.

Regarding your second question, there are NUMEROUS places to license both exclusive and non-exclusive content.  I good place to start is to check out www.paulmarkham.com. Paul has been selling content for a LONG time.  You can also go to industry sites like xbiz.com and ynot.com and find lots of companies licensing their stuff.  It all depends on what you're looking for.