The Violet Blue Thing

This is something I'm surprised Amelia hasn't addressed or even mentioned in an article on the site. I think it's interesting, what do you think?

Here's the basic story:

-In 2000, a young woman begins acting in porn under the name "Violet Blue." She registers her name as a domain in 2001. She continues to act in porn. She also does a radio show on sex.

-Also in 2000, a different woman, named Wendy Blue, begins working at Good Vibrations and calling herself Violet. She begins writing for the goodvibes site and goes on to have some other sex blogging columns. Notably, she touts herself and her work as "open source".

In 2007, well after the porn actor has been using the name for some time, the blogger decides to trademark "their" name and sue the porn actor. The porn actor is at this time mostly retired and focused on raising her children. The blogger claims that the porn actor has maliciously "stolen" the blogger's identity and that people confuse the two.

In an attempt to be accommodating, the porn actor changes her professional name to "Violetta."

Not only does the "open source" blogger sue the porn actor, but (and here's something that I find really shitty) she also makes many mean, disparaging comments about the porn actor (for example, in her own blog on the subject.) I think this is important because it became more than just a dispute over the use of a name- the blogger, who writes in the field of sex, made it clear that she looks down on "talent."

The suit went to court and the porn actor, having fewer resources than the blogger, lost.

What I don't get is why almost the entire online sex-writing and -selling industry has gotten behind the blogger and left the porn actor out to dry. It seems to me that people are willing to overlook this because Violet the actor is "talent" and Violet the blogger has a minuscule amount of "mainstream" media pull.

There is still a huge double-standard in the industry about "talent", and it seems to pervade even the minds of those who like to flirt with being talent themselves- it's okay to write about the sex you are having, and even get paid to write about the sex you are having, but not to get paid to have sex.

Disclosure: I'm not a friend of either of these ladies. I met the porn actor once, in passing, at a party and she seemed nice, but I don't know either of them to speak to. I just think that the sex blogger behaved in a really low and hypocritical fashion here and I am surprised that very few other people seem to care.

Probably because it's "porn". Unless there's some crazy ass back story there, who in the mainstream is gonna care?

Do I think it's fucked up? Sure...But the little dude always gets fucked up when mainstream doesn't give a shit. Nature of the biz, right?

Well, I don't expect people in the mainstream to care, but I do expect people who work and write in sex and erotica to care. It's disheartening to me how many of them continue to support Wendy Blue.

Have any legal documents about this actually been posted online, other than the one about the Wikipedia editing person? I frequently cover legal items, but I just didn't see a whole lot of even-handed coverage of this or much in the way of actual good source materials, so it was difficult to develop any well-informed opinion on it.

I haven't seen any legal docs myself- what's the one about wikipedia?

What about the blogger's comments about the actor- how did you feel about those?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 00goddess

I haven't seen any legal docs myself- what's the one about wikipedia?

What about the blogger's comments about the actor- how did you feel about those?

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There was some brouhaha covered by a tech blog because she served some sort of restraining papers on a person who was editing Wikipedia in a way she felt defamed her and she knew who it was.

I honestly haven't read much of anything, nothing particularly memorable, said by the blogger about the performer. What did you see which troubled you?

Admittedly, I've been a guest at a few of the same conventions as Violet Blue the writer, gone to a couple of parties with her, and I guess Blue Blood bought her dinner and drinks once. And I've never met the performer or seen her work. I do not know either woman well.

Some of the dates on when folks are saying what happened sound a bit off.

From what I understand of trademark law, if the writer is actively using the trademark and the performer has ceased to do business under that mark, then legally the writer should get the mark. But I'd really have to be infinitely more informed about the whole situation than I am to have an actual opinion.

Such is blogging.