Geeks,

My client, an international online modelling agency, needs to state the following:

"Age restrictions depend on the juristiction over your nationality".

He has a section where applicants can apply for Nude photography (Nude Artistic, Nude Erotic, Adult Nude and semi-nude). Some countries require you to be 21 and some require you to be 18. How do you corrently write the statement above?

Thanks in advance,
Michael

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I'd start with something like "Applicants must be of legal age in their country of citizenship". But this is definitely something that should be written with the consultation of a lawyer.

commented: Exactly what I was after +0
Member Avatar for Warrens80

I agree especially because of the topic it covers. A consultation with a lawyer will help ensure that the message is clear and concise.

My client has a legal team who will be going through the system to check for legalities pre-beta - this is just something that was bugging me!

"country of citizenship" was the term I couldn't grasp!

Thank you :)

Michael

Member Avatar for Warrens80

"country of citizenship" was the term I couldn't grasp!

I don't know what the legal team will say, but I don't think that the country of citizenship really matters in this case. I think that the country in which the material is produced (where the photo-shoot happens) and where the material is distributed is what matters. And also, the legal responsibility is not on the subject of the picture, but on the people taking and distributing it. It is not illegal to pose nude if underaged, but it is illegal to have, take and/or distribute nude picture of an underaged person. Case in point, the "I didn't know she was underaged" defense never holds water in court. A declaration by the model / subject that he/she is above the legal age holds no legal weight, it is always the responsibility of producer / employer to verify the age.

And the nationality or country of citizenship of the subject of the picture has nothing to do with it.

This is the same as with the legal drinking age, it does not matter where you come from (but where you are) or what you "declare" (you can't walk into a liquor store and say that you'll write-up a signed declaration that you are over the legal age!), it is the responsibility of the store clerc / manager to ensure proper verification of the age (within bounds of reason, i.e., checking ID if it isn't obvious that the person is above the legal limit).

Member Avatar for Warrens80

I didn't think about that but it makes complete sense.

Hi Mike,

In this particular instance it's not the case (I'll try to explain with clarity - I'm no lawyer thank god). Under agency rules (which applicants are required to agree to, sign and return) the subject must only partake in activities that are legal for them to undertake in their country of citizenship. According to my clients lawyers this is a legally binding contract and any model who agrees to this clause and ignores it is liable to a lawsuit.

By no means am I a specialist in law, I just know that my client has a 12-man strong in-house legal team; so I'm sure they'll figure out the rest and make it happen. Either way I am grateful for your input! I'm just constructing the 8 phase registration system.

FYI: All of this information came from a 5 minute phone call, so I'm not holding my hand on the bible and saying it's 100% accurate.

All the best,
Michael

Member Avatar for diafol

According to my clients lawyers this is a legally binding contract and any model who agrees to this clause and ignores it is liable to a lawsuit.

Well they're going to sue a 15 year old girl for saying she was older, while they took photos of her in the nude and posted them on the web for the whole world to see. That's ok then.

Mind you, it reminds me of the Traci Lords business. She started posing nude at 15 then started making X-rated pornos at 16 by faking her ID. Producers and directors weren't prosecuted due to the fact that they'd been "fooled". They should have been persecuted not prosecuted.

This "modelling" agency. It's all above board is it? "Adult Nude" - why not just "Nude"?

In the industry there are dozens of different types of nude photography, again I'm not touching the legal. I do know that the agency is legit 100%, a passport, birth certificate and national insurance number (UK) is required before the agency produces a contract. Furthermore, the agency doesn't provide a photography service, it's down to the model to produce a portfolio to the agency. They do recommend photographers and studios however, and I believe they audit them first.

Member Avatar for diafol

It's just these categories: Nude Artistic, Nude Erotic, Adult Nude and semi-nude

What's 'Adult Nude'?
Just curious.

the subject must only partake in activities that are legal for them to undertake in their country of citizenship. According to my clients lawyers this is a legally binding contract and any model who agrees to this clause and ignores it is liable to a lawsuit.

I would advise that your clients get better lawyers, if that's what those lawyers say. I'm no lawyer, but that sounds outrageously wrong by any legal standard. Let's examine it a bit:

There is no legal system anywhere that would consider the country of origin / citizenship of a person to establishing the legality of an action. The legality of an act is always determined by the laws of the country / jurisdiction in which the act is committed. It would be outrageous if it was not so. You can't say "I'm Canadian, so it's OK for me to by alcohol in the US at 19 years old.".

The only way that this clause about "country of origin" makes sense is if the agency intends to do the nude pictures in the country where the model lives. In that case, the question would be more along the lines of "are you of legal age to do this in the country you reside".

Then, the part about "legally binding contract" is also weird. A legally binding contract about doing an illegal act? If you sign a contract to kill someone, are you legally obligated to carry it out? That is preposterous. There is no way that a contract can be binding in that way. You cannot releave someone of legal obligations (such as the obligation to follow the law) by contract agreement. And, as for the model's own legal obligations, they have none in this case. There is really nothing to be "bound" by this contract.

Then, when it says "ignores it is liable to a lawsuit", what lawsuit may that possibly refer to? Well, the only lawsuit this could refer to is a possible civil lawsuit that the model could mount against the photographer and production company for having abused her by taking and distributing nude pictures of her while underaged. Now, it's important to note that this does not in any way protect the photographer and production company from prosecution under criminal law (which is coming from the state, not the model, btw). And, in that sense, the company should be far more worried about that than about a civil lawsuit.

Moreover, there are still a couple of problems with that release of liability. People can sign agreements to releave someone of liability (i.e., sign a "waiver") in cases like an organized activity that implies a certain risk (e.g., before bungee jumping you would releave the company / technicians from liability if you get hurt or die). But in this case, the "risk" is that the model lied about his/her age, which is a risk that the company is taking (the company risks criminal liability), not the model. The model simply cannot transfer the criminal liability to himself/herself for the actions of the company. In some cases, between the photographer / producer and the distribution company, there can be such a waiver being signed (i.e., the photographer takes on the liability in case the subject of the picture was underaged, i.e., releaving the distributer from any wrong-doing), but that simply does not apply between a model and the producers.

And finally, most damning of all, you have the big problem that if the model is indeed underaged, then, in most jurisdictions, the model is also a minor according to the law, and thus, incompetent to enter into any legally binding contract, i.e., only the parents or legal tutors can do that. This would automatically void the contract (i.e., anything that a minor signs is meaningless). So, the only time that the contract would be come into play (notwithstanding my other critiques) would be when it was signed by a minor, which makes it void.

And that's why I would say that any lawyer who thinks this is legally binding is an idiot.

Like I said, I'm not a lawyer, but this stuff is just basic legal notions that any lawyer would learn during freshman year in law school.

This whole thing smells pretty bad, I must say. It looks suspiciously like an attempt to shift the responsibility onto the model for the illegal act of taking a nude picture of an underaged person. The only reason why a company would have a model enter into such an agreement is to be able to argue that it's not their fault that the model was underaged because the model said in a "legally binding contract" that he/she was of legal age. Any judge who would accept such an argument or such a "legally binding contract" would not deserve to sit in that seat.

At the end of the day, it's the company's legal obligation to verify the age of the model, as it reasonably can (i.e., verify ID or birth certificate). This is the only way for the company to not be criminally liable in case the model was underaged (they'll have to prove, in court, that they did everything possible to verify the age, which means that the model would have to have done a very good job at falsifying his/her papers to pass for older than he/she was). There is nothing that can change this.

Normal procedure here is that the company would have the model register to their system by giving them their age, and provide information like "yes, I am willing to take nude pictures". Then, the company could determine if it would legal to do so (according to the stated age) in the jurisdiction where the photo shoot would be done. Then, if the model wants to take that contract (do that photo shoot), then the company would have to demand firm proof of the age of the model, usually in the form of a passport or other reliable form of ID. And finally, when all checks out, the photo shoot can happen. I would not trust any company that acts otherwise.

I build the registration system. I get paid. I walk away.

Beers all round!

@Diafol - Adult nude is sexually provocative photography.

Member Avatar for diafol

I suppose it's up to you what work you take on. Be prepared for lawsuits with this crazy legal firm ;)

I just know that my client has a 12-man strong in-house legal team; so I'm sure they'll figure out the rest and make it happen.

12 lawyers weren't able to come up with air tight wording for this and asked a non-lawyer to get the opinions of other non-lawyers? Hmm.

commented: lol +0

12 lawyers weren't able to come up with air tight wording for this and asked a non-lawyer to get the opinions of other non-lawyers? Hmm

They didn't ask me, I just couldn't get in touch with them because of the timezone difference; I could have waiting but chose not to. They haven't yet come up with air tight wording for this business at all, my client is a hedge fund and his internal departments are working on 100's of new businesses. They didn't ask me to get the opinions of non-lawyers. In fact I don't even think this project has even involved his legal team yet.

You've made that all up in your head :)

I'm starting to see the DW community in another light, I came here with a small and simple question which was answered almost immediately, but it seems everyone wants to have a say on a matter that is not only out of their hands, but out of the OPs hands also. I feel like this topic is starting to move to a 'My dad is better than your dad' format, with people trying to prove they're right or that they know more than someone else - even when they know nothing of the scenario whatsoever!

I'm not going to reply in this topic anymore and have unsubscribed. Thanks to those who helped answer my question! You have been given rep.

Michael

I apologize on behalf of everyone for worrying that you might make a dangerous legal decision. :rolleyes:

Member Avatar for Warrens80

I can't help but think of your sig.

Member Avatar for diafol

Publish and be damned. OPs IMO don't 'own' a thread - they're a construct for wide discussion. The contributors here are the same ones that have contributed to 20,000 posts on Daniweb, so I don't see how one could 'see them in a new light', having shared 500 posts with them over the course of a year or more. But that's the beauty of a thread, you can leave without feeling guilty, it's not like hanging up the phone on somebody mid-sentence :) Or is

Member Avatar for Warrens80

I was thinking the same thing but i didn't say anything.

I just spotted another legal hole in the "contract" if a person is not legally allowed to appear in these photos due to being under the age of consent then surely they are not legally allowed to give their consent for them to be used or legally allowed to consent to the terms and conditions of said contract i.e. it is worthless unless their legal parent or guardian enters into the contract.

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