Evil Angel Eulogy: Reflections on the Passing of the Obscenity Defense in Copyright James R
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Journal of Intellectual Property Law Volume 20 | Issue 2 Article 2 April 2013 Evil Angel Eulogy: Reflections on the Passing of the Obscenity Defense in Copyright James R. Alexander Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/jipl Part of the Intellectual Property Law Commons Recommended Citation James R. Alexander, Evil Angel Eulogy: Reflections on the Passing of the Obscenity Defense in Copyright, 20 J. Intell. Prop. L. 209 (2013). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/jipl/vol20/iss2/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Georgia Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Intellectual Property Law by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Georgia Law. Please share how you have benefited from this access For more information, please contact [email protected]. Alexander: Evil Angel Eulogy: Reflections on the Passing of the Obscenity De JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW VOLUME 20 SPRING 2013 NUMBER 2 ARTICLE EVIL ANGEL EULOGY: REFLECTIONS ON THE PASSING OF THE OBSCENITY DEFENSE IN COPYRIGHT James R Alexander* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRO D UCTIO N .......................................................................................... 211 II. UNCOVERING THE MAXIMS OF EQUITY................................................ 219 III. EXTENDING PRINCIPLES OF EQUITY TO COPYRIGHT........................ 229 IV. THE ORIGINS OF THE OBSCENITY DEFENSE .............. ..... 242 V. STRUGGLING WITH THE AMBIGUITIES OF LITERARY CONTENT AND FORM ................................................................................ 259 A. BYRON'S CAIN AND DONJUAN......................................................... 262 B. SHELLEY'S QUEEN MAB AND OTHER WORKS................................. 270 VI. THE LEGACY OF CLEAN HANDS IN COPYRIGHT................................. 275 VII. ADOPTION OF THE OBSCENITY DEFENSE INTO AMERICAN C O PYRIG HT L AW ........................................................................................ 282 Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Ph.D. 1973, University of Colorado. [email protected]. 814-269-2983. The author would like to thank Oren Bracha, Gary Dyer, H. Thomas Gomez-Arostegui, Kyle Grimes, Ori Herstein, Leslie Katz, and Michael Roberts for their comments on earlier versions of this Article or in assisting with documentation in its preparation. Special thanks to Erin Kidwell of the Georgetown Law Library and to Marc Silverman and Susanna Leers at the Barco Law Library of the University of Pittsburgh. 209 Published by Digital Commons @ Georgia Law, 2013 1 Journal of Intellectual Property Law, Vol. 20, Iss. 2 [2013], Art. 2 210 J. INTELL PROP.L [Vol. 20:209 VIII. THE COPYRIGHT CLAUSE AND THE VAGARIES OF OBSCENITY .......................................... 291 IX . D EATH K NELL .................................. ....................................... 304 https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/jipl/vol20/iss2/2 2 Alexander: Evil Angel Eulogy: Reflections on the Passing of the Obscenity De 2013] EVIL ANGEL EULOGY 211 I. INTRODUCTION In February 2010, John Stagliano, entrepreneur, producer, and director of pornographic films, was the principal in two simultaneous litigations regarding production and distribution of his Evil Angel films. The first was a seven-count federal criminal indictment brought against him and his company, John Stagliano, Inc. (JSI), for distribution of obscene materials and possession for purposes of distribution of obscene materials, specifically, two films and one movie trailer.' These charges were subsequently dismissed after a jury trial on July 16, 2010.2 The second litigation was a civil action; specifically, a copyright infringement claim filed by JSI on behalf of itself and Jules Jordan Video (JJV) against Alain Elmaleh and his Montreal-based Kaytel Video Distribution accused Elmaleh and Kaytel of producing and distributing knock-off DVD copies of JSI and JJV copyrighted films.? Ironically, Stagliano may have been targeted for criminal prosecution not because his films were "rough" or characterized by demeaning treatment of women, which is a usual trigger for federal action, but because of the presumption that court documents would be available from his civil suit, which would save the prosecution the expense of independent discovery.4 I United States v. Stagliano, 693 F. Supp. 2d 25 (D.D.C. 2010). The charges were precipitated by an internet purchase by an FBI agent of the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force (OPTF) of two DVD films which were delivered (possibly by United Parcel Service) on or about December 19, 2007, to a FBI-established post office box address in Washington, D.C. by btmmailorder.com, an adult-oriented online store maintained by Baltimore-based Komar Company, an adult product distribution center. Mark Kernes, Feds Lose Stagkano Obsceniiy Case-Firstin Over 30 Years, AVN (July 18, 2010, 9:31 AM), http://business.avn.com/articles/legal/Feds-Lose-Stagliano-Obscenity-Case- First-in-Over-30-Years-L/0391 1.html. The indictment did not include Komar. For the history of obscenity prosecutions during this period, see generally Robert D. Richards & Clay Calvert, Obscenity Prosecutions and the Bush Administration: The Inside Perspective of the Adult Enterainment Industy & D ense Attorney Iuis Sirkin, 14 VILL. SPoRTS & ENT. L.J. 233 (2007). 2 Kernes, supranote 1. 3 The initial suits were consolidated into Jules Jordan Video, Inc. v. 144942 Canada Inc., 617 F.3d 1146, 1150-51 (9th Cir. 2010). 4 The signature prosecutions of the OPTF spanned from 2005-2010 and included United States v. Five Star Video, Indictment, No. 2:06cr515 (D. Ariz. May 23, 2006) (indictment on eighteen counts), withdrawn, Minute Enty, United States v. Five Star Video, No. 2:06cr515 (D. Ariz. Oct. 16, 2007); United States v. Little, No. 8:07-cr-00170-T-24-MSS, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45639 (M.D. Fla. June 10, 2008), affd in part and remanded in part, 365 F. App'x 159 (11th Cir. Feb. 2, 2010); United States v. Extreme Assocs., 431 F.3d 150 (3d Cir. 2005), all responding to films that targeted smaller niche audiences interested in rough sex, domination themes, and excretion, fare that juries in assumedly more conservative venues would be less willing to tolerate under contemporary obscenity standards set by Miller v. Cakfornia, 413 U.S. 15, 24 (1973). Stagliano's films, while also oriented to selected fetish audiences, contained no domination or violent themes Published by Digital Commons @ Georgia Law, 2013 3 Journal of Intellectual Property Law, Vol. 20, Iss. 2 [2013], Art. 2 212 J. INTELL PROP.L [Vol. 20:209 Details of the Stagliano copyright infringement suit were fairly typical for piracy of films in the pornography industry at that time. In early Spring 2005, JSI and JJV began to experience an abnormally high return rate on their top- selling videos with customers claiming inferior or defective quality.5 After investigation, plaintiffs discovered that Kaytel was producing unauthorized DVD glass masters of JSI and JJV videos in California, shipping them to Canada for replication, then distributing the counterfeit copies through intermediaries to retail stores throughout the United States and the world.6 Such a case easily fit within the narrow scope of copyright protection usually accorded sexually explicit material by involving exact copies and not raising any question of whether sexual content was sufficiently original to warrant protection.' After a two-week trial, the jury found for the plaintiffs on all counts, awarding $11.2 million to JSI and $5.35 million to Gasper. 8 The absurdity revealed by the nexus of these legal and equitable judgments is palpable. Is it possible that a person has a statutorily-protected proprietary right to publish a work, grounded in the legislative assumption that such protection advances knowledge and learning, and yet for doing so, he becomes subject to criminal prosecution for distribution of that same work on the legislative assumption that certain types of works in their nature and consequence threaten the public welfare? Can it be that Congress vests him with a right that he is then prohibited from enjoying-that he has been accorded a proprietary right to sell that which is illegal to sell, and that when he attempts to exercise his right, he becomes subject to criminal action? If so, the absurdity becomes manifest, as one claims court protection for the right to and were in fact considered "whimsical." They may have been targeted because of Stagliano's own notoriety. The cases were prosecuted in the D.C. circuit-hardly known for its conservative values-probably in hopes of a high-profile conviction that might influence federal lawmakers. See Robert D. Richards & Clay Calvert, The 2008 Federal Obscenity Conviction of PaulLittle and What It Reveals About Obscenity Law and Prosecutions,11 VAND.J. ENT. & TECH. L. 543, 592 (2009). 5 JulesJordanVideo, Inc., 617 F.3d at 1150. 6 Id. 7 See Jennifer E. Rothman, Sex Exaptionadsm in IntellectualPmper y, 23 STAN. L. & POL'Y REV. 119, 143-45 (2012) (identifying how plot devices, character types, or motifs of expression tend to be stock rather than original features in commercial pornography and are therefore relatively non- protectable). Tellingly, there is no record of Kaytel arguing that sexually explicit works were ineligible for copyright protection, the rather standard affirmative defense that is the subject of this Article. 8 Juks Jordan Video, Inc., 617 F.3d at 1151. The only point