Videos sold to adult web site w/o permission

[enigmainva]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

I'm posting for a less pc/internet savvy friend. She allowed a (now former) boyfriend to video tape them during intimate moments. The video's were supposed to be exclusively for their personal enjoyment. She was to be the holder of the tapes. Somehow he got hold of some of them and sold the videos to an adult web site. After they broke up, he told her he was going to do this and also to reproduce them to sell outright and that there wasn't anything she could do about it. Since then we've discovered that he sold the videos to this adult web site well before they broke up.

How can she get them pulled off of the adult web site? Can she stop him from mass producing them for sale? Does she have any recourse against the former boyfriend and/or the adult site that bought and published the video's without her express written consent? If so, what kind of an attornery should she seek out? Should she go to the Commonwealth attorney and file a complaint?

Before anyone asks, the website these videos are on is an adult pay web site. You can't see the video's unless you buy a membership so providing the url for the web site is pointless.

Thanks,

Enigma

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

I'm posting for a less pc/internet savvy friend. She allowed a (now former) boyfriend to video tape them during intimate moments. The video's were supposed to be exclusively for their personal enjoyment. She was to be the holder of the tapes. Somehow he got hold of some of them and sold the videos to an adult web site. After they broke up, he told her he was going to do this and also to reproduce them to sell outright and that there wasn't anything she could do about it. Since then we've discovered that he sold the videos to this adult web site well before they broke up.

How can she get them pulled off of the adult web site? Can she stop him from mass producing them for sale? Does she have any recourse against the former boyfriend and/or the adult site that bought and published the video's without her express written consent? If so, what kind of an attornery should she seek out? Should she go to the Commonwealth attorney and file a complaint?

Before anyone asks, the website these videos are on is an adult pay web site. You can't see the video's unless you buy a membership so providing the url for the web site is pointless.

Thanks,

Enigma

**A: then provide the url and our membership number, user name and password.

 

[saw192837]

I have to check Virginia case law and statute, but as a general rule it is not invasion of privacy because she consented to the filming. It is a copyright question , does he hold the copyright on the video, or both of them, or her? More detail would help; was it his camera, did he have physical control of the tapes, or did she?

Also the money he is making from the video is another cause of action; his behavior seems to make him liable, to what extent lies the question.

 

[saw192837]

This is a complicated case.

This is a question of 1) copyright, 2) contract and 3) tort.

1) Whoever holds the copyright to a tangible item can sell it or distribute it. If two people make a video together, they are considered joint copyright holders and either of the two can sell non-exclusive rights to it.

Applied to your case, this means that his selling of the tape, under copyright law, was protected, since the tape is "his" as well, so it is his right. Nor can you likely bring an action of appropriation of her person, because federal copyright law "pre-empts" most causes of action. This means suing for invasion of privacy would be prevented because it concerns the copyright of the video, which is governed by federal law, not state law (Invasion of privacy is a state law cause of action). This law was designed to protect people's copyrights, even at the expense of others' privacy.

2) Your best bet is in breach of contract. This depends highly on what exactly was said during the negotiation of the parties when they were deciding on whether to make the video. This is the most difficult part of the case. What exactly did the "boy" say to her? What did he promise? For this to be actionable, it must be a valid contract. To be a valid contract it must have consideration, something in return for her appearing in the video.

She appeared only because he promised to keep it private. He broke that promise, and may have broken the contract. If this is a legally binding contract, he breached it and can be liable for damages. How much is another question; it would be damages for the money he (in part) earned by selling it. Possibly the website may have to pay, but that is less likely. Most importantly it would enable a permanent restraining order to suppress the video for good.

3) There is also a question of intentional infliction of emotional distress. To prove this you need outrageous conduct, beyond all bounds of social acceptability, and resultant damages and emotional havoc. An example outrageous would be to call someone up on the phone, say their spouse died, and then hang up laughing: that would be IIED.

It is up in the air as to whether that exists in this case; I would say no, the conduct of the "boyfriend" was vulgar and crass, but not outrageous to the necessary extreme. So there is no likely claim of IIED.


There is a way to suppress the video before the case goes to trial. You need to (or a lawyer) file a preliminary injunction to prevent distribution of the video. To get that, you must show irreparable harm if the video is distributed (this you have) and that you have a substantial chance at winning your trial.

So in conclusion, you may have to contact a lawyer, who presumably will file a prelim. injunction and a claim for breach of contract.