[California] We are a small indie porn company. Former model wants her videos removed, unwilling to buy the copyright. Sends threatening messages.

You're missing the context of the idea.

It would be something similar to owning a taxi medallion after Uber came into the market. You might own something that had a certain value at one time. It is not as valuable once someone makes it available at a lower cost via increasingly advanced technology. HTML5 WebRTC based P2P streaming services like https://www.bitchute.com/ are a shot across the bow. You no longer need a Youtube level of server infrastructure when every visitor participates in a transparent streaming swarm. P2P CDN and similar WebRTC technologies are also pushing the limits of what we previously thought possible. Remember: This works without special plugins on NAT/firewalled networks. It only needs a modern Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc. It even works on Android and iOS.

On the other end of it, cam websites are bringing the porn experience from a passive to interactive and making the models a lot of money in the process. It is also increasing the amount of ripped and uploaded porn as more is produced everyday. These same models also cover fetish content and increasingly couples performing via special community sites.

The cost to host the media is falling, the amount of media produced is increasing exponentially, and it is getting harder to police what people upload. The taxi owners didn't take Uber seriously and they regret it. You might find yourself on the other end of the same type of technology. Scarcity as a business model is dying. The technology has come too far to put the genie back into the bottle. Legal solutions don't work as the MPAA, RIAA, BERIN, Perfect 10, and similar groups have shown.

tl;dr She isn't the only thing working against you here. Review the value of the assets within the context of technology over the next 5 years. Don't believe that legal solutions will protect you from technology. They won't.

/r/legaladvice Thread Parent