Recently, I spoke with one of my larger clients whom was trying to purchase non-exclusive rights to content that was being created by performer/content creators – at home with their own partners – during the COVID-19 quarantine.
It was a simple offer, the company would agree to pay a flat rate for any content that the performer/content creator wanted to license to the company. The performer/content-creator would retain all ownership rights in the content and could continue to use the content on any of their sites or any platform or license it to anyone else. The company just wanted some fresh content to update their company’s websites with. It was meant to be a win-win for both the company and the performer/content-creators.
However, not a single performer/content-creator whom they spoked to could complete the deal.
Why not ? Not a single performer/content creator had the necessary “paperwork” to go along with the content, so the company could actually use the content.
If you are creating content at home with your friend(s), lover(s), significant other(s) or even someone you met on Tinder, YOU NEED A SIGNED MODEL RELEASE AND 2257 DOCUMENT FOR EACH PERSON FOR EACH SCENE.
If you are producing content and you are not securing the necessary agreements signed by your models, whether they are amateurs of professionals, you really don’t own your content and you can lose the right to use it. And certainly, in the case of my client, your content can never be sold or licensed to anyone.
For some reason amateur models/performers/content creators have a mistaken belief that the same laws that apply to mainstream pornography companies such as Blacked, Brazzers, AdultTime, Gamma ect., do not apply to small amateur productions. This is simply not true. Small production companies – and even you only self-produce for your own OnlyFans account – must also comply with the same laws as the large mainstream studios.
Failure to secure a signed model release means that whoever appears in your content can at some point demand that you stop using the content and remove it from all of your accounts.
Failure to secure a signed 2257 Document and a valid ID from the other performers in the scene can result in jail time at worst, and at best, without such, no one will purchase or license your content.
See also – https://adultbizlaw.com/2012/10/22/porn-101-18-u-s-c-2257-the-basics/
Failure to secure a signed work for hire agreement from your photographer and/or videographer means that you don’t actually own the copyright to the scene even though you may have paid that person for their work.
See also – https://adultbizlaw.com/2012/07/30/who-owns-your-content/
If you are reading this and do not have the necessary documents/agreements, there is hope but you will need to backtrack and secure the documents now. Which may be difficult from people that appeared in your content that you no longer have contact with.
And what if you do not have the “right” documents or do not even know where to find them ?
For $100 you can purchase a complete package of production forms – including a Content Trade Release that needs to be used instead of the standard Model Release when you trade content with other performers.
See also – https://adultbizlaw.com/2694-2/
Don’t sell yourself short and not be able to capitalize on licensing fees. Your content has value more than just what you may make from it by posting it to your OnlyFans account. With the correct documentation, you can resell that same content, usually over and over again. Owning your content is probably one of the most important aspects to be a Content Creator.
AdultBizLaw.com 
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