From a standpoint of logic I don't think the designer could be held liable. How would they know?

Pornography in and of itself isn't illegal in the US. Certain types (child pornography of course) are. But if as the designer you only work with material that is legal and only give the client material that is legal, I can't imagine you having any problems. Now, if they send you kiddie porn and you put logos on top of it, you can probably expect a visit from the police.

But asking about the "Terms and Conditions" statement is broad. Are you worried about being responsible for what that actually stays? Isn't that like asking if you're responsable for the content of a contract people sign at a store since you were the printer? I don't think the printer would ever have any problem unless the actually printed material itself constituted a crime (reproduction of copyrighted material or illegal images (child porn, etc).

«El futuro es una línea tan fina que apenas nos damos cuenta de pintarla nosotros mismos». (La Luz Oscura, por Javier Guerrero)

So there actually are designers doing porn stuff?

This is a web site of type designers and graphic designers. We've been lucky to keep it mostly lawyer-free.

That said, the TOS is typically an agreement between the company and the consumer of the company's services. Not sure how you would be any more liable than the employee in charge of answering phones or sweeping the floors.

So there actually are designers doing porn stuff?

I'd be curious to find a book on how many thoughtful arrangements of "First time," "Tight," "XXX," and "College ____" you could make.

No, I didn't honestly expect that the designer would retain much liability, but the line of reasoning I was employing went something like this:

Terms of service agreements exist, seemingly, to fulfill the function of a contract between the user of a website and the organization to which the website belongs. I know too little about contract law, but it would seem, again, that were the user's exposure or interaction with the TOS page somehow not set up properly (maybe due to the web designer simply not knowing where, or how, or how many times to implement it) it might void the "contract". Would that be the web designer's fault (criminally), even a little bit?

Usually the worst that can happen when a designer makes a mistake on a print or web project is the client being angry, perhaps choosing to go with someone else for the next gig. I don't think this is even a borderline case, but was curious (read: cautious) about if it were. The US is a strange country.

Also, it's not porn. Also, definitely not a lawyer. : )

You can give yourself some protection with a "hold harmless" clause for your design services, (pretty standard in normal contracts anyway) which basically means that you dealt with content provided by your client in good faith that the client had obtained all required clearances and kept appropriate records, and therefore you can't be sued if the client failed to do so, but that is strictly a civil point.

Certain specific content is illegal (child porn always, possibly others depending on community standards) but that is a criminal matter, and no contract can insulate you from criminal prosecution.

I am not a lawyer, and this information is for informational purposes only as grounds for further research, and should not be construed as legal advice.

Okay I think I see what the OT is getting out. This would be more akin to (in the case of the paper contract I mentioned in my first post) the printer and/or designer producing a document that is otherwise unreadable. As others have already stated, just make sure the client signs off on the final design (positioning of the Terms link, etc) and I don't think you'd have a problem. IANAL but just doing what the client asks for and (maybe) on your own making sure that it goes with established practice should be more than sufficient for you.

«El futuro es una línea tan fina que apenas nos damos cuenta de pintarla nosotros mismos». (La Luz Oscura, por Javier Guerrero)

The Adult Video News business section has good information and resources on this matter, but some of the advertising is NSFW, so I don't know if it is appropriate to link here.

Well, Hans Schweitzer didn't go to Nuremberg :)
_____________________________________________
Personal Art and Design Portal of Ivan Gulkov
www.ivangdesign.com

So there actually are designers doing porn stuff?

I am reminded of hearing "so there are actually people who design fonts?"

At the higher end, did you think magazines like Playboy and Penthouse (and their web sites) were created by robots or something?

I doubt there's *very much* high-end design in the porn industry, but it's a huge industry with a large volume of cheaply produced low-end product, all of which gets some degree of design. Maybe most of it is low-end, maybe a lot of the people doing that are self-taught, I dunno. But whether or not one likes the design or its subject matter, there's a LOT of design work happening in the porn industry, in print, online, and video.

Cheers,

T

In Massachusetts you’re probably safe, but if you’re really worried then his is something you need to discuss with a lawyer specializing in local criminal matters. At the federal level the only people recently prosecuted (pedophiles not included) for porn were both producing extreme scatological porn and getting those convictions required years of searching for people to persecute and venue shopping. But at the local level dealing with porn can be far more dangerous; local DAs will walk all over law and precedent to try and get elected to some higher office.

@Thomas: I guess my humor isn't all that evident online.

Oops, sorry, sometimes sarcasm doesn't travel well in print.