A Completely New And Different Porn Panic 2012: Sara Jay And Angelina Castro's Celebratory Blowbang Gets Cockblocked By Humorless NBA

UPDATED....scroll to bottom.

This may not be as serious an issue as The Condom Wars in porn, but it is still pretty intense....if not hilarious.

The Internet is screaming right about now over the National Basketball Association's attempt today to drop their big old hammer down on two porn performers, Sara Jay and Angelina Castro -- both members of Vicky Vette's "Vette Nation Army" network of porn sites -- for their chosen method of celerating this year's Miami Heat winning the NBA championship. Angelina is a Miami native, a transplanted Cuban emigre, and probably the most well endowed Heat fan there is; Sara is more or less an enthusiastic fellow traveler (and equally, errrr, blessed up front...and back).

The fun started when Angelina and Sara decided back in April to put their mouths where their Heat fanaticism is, and made a bold promise to their Twitter followers: if the Heat would go on to win their first championship, then the two strumpets would offer free blowjobs to any follower willing to make the trip there. Considering that both had strong Twitter followings even before they made this challenge (>200K for Sara, >100K for Angelina), it may have seemed to be just another publicity stunt doomed not to come to fruition.

And, while the Heat were favored to win their first crown, since they had the trio of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh to lead them, the history of the promise of mass pleasure for fans of porn girls had not been too kind. The first instance occured back in 2010 when Bobbi Eden (now another VNA girl) promised to share her oral skills with her followers if her native Norwegian soccer team managed to beat England in the World Cup futbol finals. Unluckily (or luckily), it didn't come to pass at that time. Then, you had now retired performer and devoted Pittsburgh Steelers fan Diamond Foxxx attempting the same template for routing for her Men of Steel to beat the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLVI. Didn't pan out then, either.

Let's just say that history was against Sara and Angelina..but when the Heat knocked off the Oklahoma City Thunder 4 games to 2, history gave way to the thrill of victory...and the agony of "OMG, we gotta pay up now!!!" 

Give credit where credit is due...they did just that...planning and organizing their brash bet into what ultimately was planned to be an one-day hummerfest, where followers ranked in seniority, paid site members, and even Miami Heat staff and players, were invited to get in on the fruits of their successful labor. No publicity stone was unturned: a website (teambjnba.com) and a Twitter ID (@teambjnba) was set up and promoted, a venue and date was set, and the girls were preparing themselves eagerly for the mass of dickage. Nothing could go wrong....right??

Problem was, someone tipped off the NBA brass..and they weren't too happy.

Like most professonal leagues built on their corporate "brand" and jealous of their copyright, the NBA tends to be pretty damn hypersensitive about others using their likeness or their labels.  Mostly, it's about monopolizing the money stream...but there may also be a bit of Puritanism and maintaining their "image" as well. Right, as if most NBA fans aren't also porn fans, or that there isn't already a connection between the more open sex lives of NBA players and the sexual entertainment industry. Remember Wilt Chamberlain??

Anyways, the NBA decided to once and for all put the cockblock on this blowbang distortion of their image. Here's a quote from the letter that their trademark people (NBA Properties) sent to Angelina and Sara (and probably also to Vicky Vette, the Head General in charge of the VNA network, too):

"It has come to our attention that [you] are using NBA Intellectual Property without authorization, including on the website http://www.teambjnba.com and Twitter page https://twitter.com/#!/teambjnba (collectively the “Websites”), to promote an event by including references to the Miami Heat and its players. The Websites incorporate the 'NBA' trademark in the domain name and account name and prominently feature NBA Intellectual Property — including the Heat team logo.

“Furthermore, NBAP has confirmed [you are] using a photograph depicting the likeness of Heat players Chris Bosh, Lebron James, and Dwyane Wade without their authorization and in violation of their rights. [Your] unauthorized use of NBA Intellectual Property is an attempt to capitalize on the fame and goodwill of NBA Intellectual Property and tarnishes the reputation of the NBA and the Heat. NBAP has not authorized [You] to use NBA Intellectual Property in any way and [Your] unauthorized use; therefore, constitutes among other things, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false association, and unfair competition."

The letter then went on to call for the girls to cease and desist all mention of the "TeamBJNBA" motto, to shut down the TeamBJNBA.com website, and give up control of the @TeamBJNBA Twitter account to the NBA. And it specifically stated a deadline of July 9th, this coming Monday, in order to avoid direct legal action.

Now, who knows if James, Wade, Bosh, or any other Miami Heat players or staff really gives a rat's ass about two porn performers/fangirls deciding to celebrate their team's championship in their own way. They're too busy basking in their glory, I figure. My guess is that the NBA is simply (over)reacting as a means of protecting their "image" for the more prudish of their fans, and protecting their "brand" as a profit generator.

The reaction from Sara and Angelina to the NBA going all No Fun League was swift, to say the least. This from XBiz.com:

"This was all supposed to be fun. I supported the Heat and sent them tons of followers during the season. Can't they let us fans like us have a little fun? The NBA's slogan is 'Where Amazing Happens'… if offering 300,000 followers free oral sex isn't amazing, I don't know what is," Jay said.

Castro added, "As anyone knows who follows my Twitter, I lived and breathed Miami Heat basketball all year. I am upset they are taking the fun out what we are trying to do. No one thought we were going to go ahead with the event. We aren't hurting anyone. Does NBA stand for 'No BJ's Allowed?'"

A representative for the stars said they are in the process of determining a response by the NBA's July 9 deadline.

My guess is that the blowbang goes on as scheduled, just under a different handle so that not to upset the NBA beancounters' hurt fee-fees. And of course, nothing beats free publicity, anytime....as if Sara Jay and Angelina Castro needed any that their bodacious racks and extended bootys and insatiable sexual appetites didn't already merit.


Update (7-11-12): The Jay/Castro blowbang is still on, though its promotion has been altered to satisfy the concerns of the NBA trademark beancounters. The new site for info is OfficialTeamBJ.com; and the new Twitter hashtag is #TeamBJ. Surprisingly enough, the @TeamBJNBA Twitter page is still up and functional, though it hasn't been updated since Monday. You can also check both Sara's (@SaraJayXXX) and Angelina's (@AngelinaCastroX) Twitter pages for more info.

Vicky Vette vs. RapidShare: A Shot In The Dark, Or A Major Blow Against Porn Piracy??

Remember when I had posted here about Vicky Vette complaining about how file-sharing venues like RapidShare were basically stealing her content and passing it on for free...and that she was considering legal action to prevent such??

Well, last week, she cashed the check, so to speak. The story courtesy of XBiz.com:

Adult Star Vicky Vette Sues RapidShare For Stealing Content

LOS ANGELES —Adult star Vicky Vette has filed a lawsuit against RapidShare A.G. claiming the company repeatedly uploaded her content and provided it free to web surfers.

Vette said she is the first major adult star to file a lawsuit against RapidShare.The suit was filed in Los Angeles County.

According to Vette's attorney, Michael Kernan, the suit centers around Vette's right of publicity. Kernan said that under California law, any actor has the right to protect their name and likeness. RapidShare, Kernan said, is illegally using Vette's likeness and content to sell memberships to its sites.

"RapidShare is trying to redefine itself as a Google, when in fact it is more like Napster and making a profit out of selling pirated content. It's downloading copyright protected material," Kernan said.

[Quote from Vicky] "The adult industry has complained bitterly about torrent sites and file sharing sites like RapidShare destroying the business, but for some reason no one has stepped up to the plate and done anything about it. Instead of whining, I decided to put my money where my mouth is, and retained an attorney to sue them. I have lots of popular exclusive content like my 'Lavatory Occupied' series that is repeatedly available on RapidShare for download without my permission."

Vette said she decided to sue after repeatedly sending cease and desist letters that were ignored by RapidShare.

"RapidShare promised me they would "filter" their content, but I just found 'Lavatory Occupied'... once again... sitting on their servers and free to the world. I think it must be deliberate, or they just don't care.They seem to feel they are immune to action," Vette said.

"Anytime I mention this to other people in the business I am shocked that they shrug their shoulders and seem resigned to the stealing that is going on. Napster was forced to comply with the law after being sued. I am hoping to set an example. Just because my content is adult does not mean that it is not worthy of protection. It costs me money to make it, and it is valuable to me. Just a couple of months ago a comic book publishing consortium got an injunction for similar infringing behavior against RapidShare. I figured that it was a great time to strike," Vette said.

RapidShare's U.S. attorneys were not available for comment at press time.

In a related story, XBIZ reported today that Perfect 10, which also filed a suit against RapidShare won a motion to deny RapidShare from postponing a preliminary injunction hearing set for May 12 and moving the venue to Germany. The hearing will be heard in San Diego District Court as originally scheduled.

“RapidShare didn’t want a U.S. court to have the opportunity to hear the case," Perfect 10 owner Norm Zeda told XBIZ. "They wanted the case tried under German law."

Zada filed a preliminary injunction April 12 against RapidShare, saying the company is stealing, copying and selling his copyrighted material.

RapidShare's response in a memorandum stated that Perfect 10 has declined to provide RapidShare with the links to files it asserts are among hundreds of millions of user files on RapidShare’s site, which RapidShare would gladly remove if Perfect 10 shared this information.

According to Zada, RapidShare admits to selling the content, but not to copying it, saying the material ended up on its servers, which are located in Germany, through anonymous third parties.

RapidShare claimed it's a storage site where users can store and share files and view licensed content, including video games and movie trailers from Warner Brothers in Germany.

But Zeda argued, "They’re not a storage locker. RapidShare is the greatest infringing paysite of all time. They’re making $80 million a year that belongs to American studios and producers.”

Zada said he has lost $60 million fighting the good fight, adding the U.S. government doesn’t help the cause by not offering copyright protection.

Both Zeda and Vette said they will continue the fight.

Vette asked others in adult who think they are victims of RapidShare to email her and she will refer them to her attorney.

Now, the consensus opinion out there praises Vicky for being the first adult star to initiate such a legal action, but also gives her not much of a chance of success, and even includes a heavy risk of having to pay all of RapidShare's court costs if unsuccessful.  I'm figuring, though, that she's willing to take that risk for the basic principle of protecting her property and her interests, and standing up for performers.

It's not the first time that RapidShare has been targeted for enabling piracy; I posted earlier about the ruling that favored a group of booksellers and comic authors claiming that RS illegally violated their copyright rights by reproducing the former's content and reproducing it for free. And, as noted above, Perfect 10 has become well known for their legal challenges to companies who offer open access to file shareing, as their long-running battle against Google shows....though that one didn't quite turn out in their favor.

It should be noticed that Vette's lawsuit involves only material specifically pilfered from her own sites (the Lavatory Occupied series was an exclusive that was produced around 2006-2007 for her personal site VickyatHome.com), and not content that she produced for other companies such as Brazzers or Naughty America.

I'm guessing that the counter argument put out by RapidShare will be that they should not be held responsible or liable for the actions of their users, who upload the contents themselves for safe keeping and sharing to RS's servers; and that only the users who steal content directly from performers' sites and reproduce them as their own for free or resale should be the ones held liable. This was exactly the defense that Napster and many bit torrent sites used against legal actions against them...to varying success.

Also, it could be argued that given the ease of downloading material using instant downloader software and the fact that many uploaders and users of file-saving/file storage software get their material legally and legitimately through valid monthly memberships and simply use the storage for safe keeping rather than file sharing (not to deny in any way that more overt theft does exist), it would be well nigh impossible to prove that there is any malicious theft.  The fact that RapidShare does charge fees for storage based on length of time, and does tend to look away at the sight of covert copying of paid content, does tend to strength Vicky's case a bit.

Either way, this case is a potential game changer for both file-sharing and adult media production...and more than worth watching.  Whatever side you may be on, you gotta give Vicky Vette her just deserved credit for backing up with action her words and deeds.

The Porn File-Sharing Debate Goes Viral: Vicky Vette Declares Total War On RapidShare (And Other "Theives")

If there is anything only slightly less controversial than the state of porn or the issues of condoms, it is the issue of downloading and filesharing of porn videos.

While most adult media file sharers are perfectly legal and law-abiding folks who have obtained their wares legitimately through paid memberships to adult websites, there are more than a few who do in fact attempt to steal content in order to profit for their own, or simply to take credit for material that is not their own.

In a depressed economy, though, even legal file sharing through such venues as bit torrents or "tube sites" (sites similar to the popular You Tube that allows uploading and public viewing of video clips, but explicitly catering to XXX tastes) or through file storage/file sharing sites as Hotfile or RapidShare or Megaupload (and its adult kin Megaporn), can be very much harmful to the original producers of such material who expect a fair compensation for their work. This can be especially true of independent sites that aren't dependent on large establishment production houses such as Naughty America or Brazzers, and the so-called "at home" sites hosted by performers and models out of their own home that rely on exclusive home-grown content.

Not suprisingly, it is mostly the latter group that has attempted to fight back against what they see as intellectual property theft, and some of them have gone so far as to seek legal action against companies they see as enablers of "property theft". The softcore megasite Perfect 10's unsuccessful attempt to seek damages against Google for their use of thumbnails in their Google Photos app is one example; the recent lawsuit of Pink Visual against Brazzers for the latter's tube sites violating the former's copyright by showing PW's clips without permission is another.

The primary defenses used by the filesharing and tube sites has been that they can't really control what their users upload and store on their servers, and that most of the supposed "copyrighted" material is uploaded by members who legally sought and own them through legitimate paying memberships to those sites. They say that the most they can do is to detect the obviously illegal theives and shut them down as soon as possible...but to target a whole service is throwing out the baby with the bathwater and punishing the innocent as much as the guilty.

Nevertheless, that has not cooled the anger of those who constantly see their hard earned work reproduced and copied illegally and passed on through file sharing sites and tubes.

One such performer/webmistress is Vicky Vette: reigning MILF superstar and owner of the very popular Vicky at Home website and rapidly rising multi-model Vette Nation Army network. (Disclosure alert: I am a moderator of Vicky's members' forum, and own and co-moderate several Yahoo! groups dedicated to her network.) She has had an ongoing battle with defending her intellectual property against copyright thieves since her original site took off in 2002; but when she discovered recently that some of her material was being illegally stolen and passed around through services like RapidShare, it jolted her to action. Quoting from an entry at her home site blog:

Pretty simple business plan, film sex and sell it, a plan that is being threatened by file sharing – the practice of uploading movies for downloading by others free. Now perhaps I should be flattered that stuff I sell is being ’shared’ but I have recently started a full frontal campaign against one of these file sharing mongers – Rapidshare. For those of you not familiar with Rapidshare you can download whatever you want for free – supposedly from users just like you who have uploaded their movies to share. Why am I upset with Rapidshare and others like them? Rapidshare are thieves. They make money by selling memberships, advertising and other scams. Yes… when something is up on their server you can in theory download it for free, but they do cute things like ‘for $9.95 you can get this file quicker and easier’. There are also all kinds of links to Adultfriendfinder where you can supposedly date ME if you have a membership. Do I get a piece of the action if they sell memberships, advertising or otherwise when a user is so inclined to spend a few bucks? Not a penny. Do they seem to care if someone puts up my movies for sharing by millions of people free? Apparently not. Rapidshare is doing to movies what Napster did to music… destroying the industries it is cheating.

You would think that it would be easy to get Rapidshare NOT to put up my adult videos and share them with the world if I asked them right? NOT so. One of my more popular website flicks is Lavatory Occupied – a series of videos shot in zany lavatories all over the world (including on a 747). Not exactly high art but I own them and Rapidshare cannot legally host or give it away. I wrote to them after I found Lavatory Occupied and other links and they immediately took down/disabled the links. Problem solved right? Errr no. A couple days later more links reappeared. So I wrote again and threatened them. Problem solved right? Errr, no. The links were taken down but a couple of days later more videos were put up in their place. I just got done writing them yet again today. A revolving door of stolen movies.

[...]

I am writing this blog to do my small part in the way of a public service announcement. If you are using the services of Rapidshare or others like it, remember that the performers are getting ZERO. If you became a member at Rapidshare so that you could get a quick download, remember that no one is making a dime but the scumbags running these services. If you sign up to a dating site because you are surfing rapidshare, were turned on by the porn you see, and feel like hooking up on one of the dating sites advertised remember most of the profiles you are salivating over were simply made up by a bunch of guys thinking of ways to get you to spend your money. No, the big breasted blonde named ‘Inga’ does not live down the street from you.

You would think a massive country like the good old United States of America would do something legally to protect ALL copyright owners. After all Rapishare and companies like them steal not only porn but also from major hollywood movies etc. Now I would love to think that Eric Holder from the Department of Justice was thinking about porn when he made an announcement on February 10, 2010 that a ‘task force’ was being set up to confront intellectual property crimes but I kind of doubt it. GET THAT LINK HERE. I also think it is an empty promise. I am however happy to see that the police on February 12 in Poland of all places arrested 3 people running a File Sharing Forum for Rapidshare Uploads. GET THAT LINK HERE . The masterminds behind this Forum with 30,000… yes 30,000 users? Aged 21, 16 and 15 with 6 computers between them. The people who responded to this ‘news’ (which did not exactly make CNN) made comments showing the mindset of our society…

Incidentally, RapidShare is based in Switzerland, so it is probably questionable whether US copyright laws would actually be applicable, and the Justice Department isn't exactly too kind to defending porn these days. 

On the other hand, though, there was a recent case in Germany where a group of  book publishing companies and producers were successful in getting legal sanctions against RapidShare for copyright violations in postiing their work withoug permission....and that might give some impetus to Ms. Vette's argument.

Of course, RapidShare is only one of many companies who offer file sharing, and the ease of downloading and the popularity of filesharing would make it a rather tough case to sell for going after the companies or even the users (the latter being the favored strategy of mainstream anti-piracy groups like the MPAA or RIAA through their lawsuits against individual filesharers or sabatoge via DCMA malware). Also, many fileshare groups insist that given the millions of profit that already exist through price gouging for regular consumers of material, it is inevitable and simply unstoppable. and counterproductive to go after user, who may respond by not buying the product itself and really destroying the profits of the industry. (Not to mention the broader attitudes against the adult sexual media in general.)

To that, Vicky responded with this:

I kind of expect some harsh responses to this blog. Vicky… you are a pornstar, don’t sweat the small stuff, you have to be rich! Vicky.. think of it as free advertising for your site! Vicky… I put stuff up myself (I own it and I want to share it!). Vicky who cares… it is only porn?! Vicky.. move to Poland if you are so concerned! In case you have not noticed, adult companies and performers are hurting. Your DVD’s? Less common. Like any movie, producing ‘art’… in this case people having sex on camera.. costs money. Costs include the ‘actors’, a camera dude or two, a photographer etc. When a company puts out ‘Vicky Vette Has Sex With a Me and All my Myspace Friends 83′ and rather than BUY it, you run to Rapidshare and get it because someone uploaded it and Rapidshare allows it…. who wins? Rapidshare. The folks making the adult stuff you want to ‘enjoy’ are not making enough for their own mansions anymore and going out of business. If you steal Part 83 there is no reason to make Part 84 of ‘Vicky Vette Has Sex with Me and all my Myspace Friends’.

Should we care about the porn producers who make adult movies? Just a bunch of scumbags right? That is sure the perception, but think about the performers too – whose numbers are dwindling. Have you guys wondered where the next Jenna Jameson is? It has been a while since someone like that has appeared in adult for a reason. It is becoming increasingly difficult for adult stars to make money to do such a profession. Why bare all for the camera if the results are stolen? The Jenna Jameson’s of the world are staying in school, staying as strippers and doing anything BUT getting into adult. A good thing? Maybe, but if you are a fan of hot girls in adult… not. Companies don’t have the money to promote ’stars’ anymore and there is no point becoming an adult star if you still are living in a one bedroom apartment in Reseda wondering when you are going to become famous like Jenna. To be blunt, if you can make more money dancing at the ‘Foxy Lady’ than appearing in a skin flick… why bare all for a dwindling chance at fame?

Why bother with this blog? I am doing my small part. Educating my small slice of the world that you should think twice about using Rapidshare and companies like it. If something is FREE…. someone is getting ripped off. If you are uploading your movies to Rapidshare and places like it…… you are helping Rapidshare make money and the owners who run it.

I am going to keep sending my letters to Rapidshare and keep fighting the fight. Will it help? Probably not… I fear that the biggest culprit in all of this are likely adult movie companies themselves who are likely behind lots of these places. It seems our own community is giving away free stolen content to make money from advertisers/dating sites etc. It would not surprise me that some adult movie producers are deliberately putting up free stuff so that other adult movie producers go out of business – dog eat dog.

 Whatever you may think about fire sharing, we all can agree on one thing: stealing someone's content without their permission is definitely WRONG. Stealing their content and claiming it as your own is even worse.

Vicky Vette has said that she is currently seeking advice for possible legal action against RapidShare and other venues that illegally post her material; we will follow with updates as they happen.

Nina Rides A Vette Now (With Update)

Update (9-21-08): Two points of correction, thanks to Vicky and Ernest:

1) I may have given the impression that Nina's original site Nina.com was no longer functioning. That is NOT the case, it is still up and running, but only as a basic commercial paysite without the features such as a forum for communicating with her fans.

2) The NinaHartley.com site that is being hosted at Vicky's place (Vickyathome.com) is basically a clone of Nina.com, but it does include access to a section of Vicky's own members-only forum that is dedicated to Nina personally. Membership in Vicky's site is required, however, to access the forum; such membership also gets you access to NinaHartley.com as well.

I have been seriously thinking about offering some space of my Red Garter Club website for a free forum or blog that would archive some of the most important threads off Nina's old forum for public access; as well as serve as a free form of access for those Nina fans who might not be as able to pony up for a membership to Nina's or Vicky's sites. I will consult with Nina and Ernest and Vicky for their thoughts before I do anything; I don't want to step on any toes.


Original post:
This may not fit into the usual political and intellectual stuff, but it is more than worth announcing if you are as much a Nina Hartley fanatic as I am.

As you may well know, Nina's original official website, http://www.nina.com , has been in a state of limbo these past months following an ugly incident where her forum board was invaded and hacked by a group of fundamentalist Muslim extremists. The remainder of the site was unharmed, but due to the breach of security, the forum was permanently suspended and the site had to be refurbished....much to the chagrin of regular members of the board who had enjoyed the stimulating conversation and discussion about all matters concerning Nina.

However, I do have great news to proclaim: Nina has now revived her site under the domain of http://www.ninahartley.com , with the assistance and bandwidth space donated by colleague, supreme MILF, and outright badass, fine-ass, and boobalicious blonde bombshell Vicky Vette (http://www.vickyathome.com ), who has been a rising starlet amongst adult Internet performers and who recently scored a major coup by being voted as Booble.com's Booble Girl of the Year for 2008.

In addition to that, Vicky has been an outspoken voice not only for sexual media and sex positivity (and she has her criticisms of the industry, too, which she's not afraid to vent on occasion. She has depended on the loyalty of her devoted fans (whom she lovingly refers to as the Vette Nation Army) and her own special....ummmm, assets to become a rising starlet in the adult Internet scene...though she mostly does content solely for her site.

I'm going to try to see if I can get Vicky to surf through the BPPA...and who knows, I may even get her to post some opinions. She might not have quite the....ummmm, edge of Ren, but she does bring a lot to the plate....and I don't just mean her 36DD chest, either.

Members of Vicky's site can chat with her through her exclusive Members' Board (in which Nina also has a section dedicated to her); everyone else can meet her though her MySpace and Facebook pages.

BTW...Nina has also set up her own Facebook page, find it here.