Officials to view porn for legalities

After contending with state budget cuts to higher education and fighting a Texas-sized lawsuit from former Coach Bob Knight, the latest task for IU officials -- watching a porn film -- will be a different type of challenge.\nIU spokeswoman Jane Jankoswki calls it "unfortunate."\nShe said IU officials will have to review the finished product of "Campus Invasion," the pornographic film made in Teter Quad, before any decisions on legal or disciplinary action can be made.\n"Well, I think the legal action is spelled out in the letter to the company," Jankowski said. "I think you have to see what's in the product."\nJankowski also said IU's legal staff would be involved in the process to decide if IU's trademarks have been used improperly in the film.\nIssues that have been raised about the incident include possible trespassing, filming on campus without a permit, violation of University trademark copyrights and exploitation of students involved in the making of the film.\nIU also has concerns about the negative public image the film could bring to the University.\nCalli Cox, actress and publicist for Shane Enterprises, told the IDS for a previous story that the film would include no references to IU.\nRobert DeKoven, a professor at California Western School of Law who writes a column on legal issues concerning college students, said he believes the filmed students were probably exploited.\n"If they didn't sign release forms, Shane Enterprises is guilty of misrepresentation, fraud and invasion of privacy," he said.\nIn Shane Enterprise's previous filming excursion at Arizona State University, the company did not get the students involved to sign release forms, DeKoven said. Brian Buck, an ASU student who was featured in a shower scene in the film, was later stripped of his position as vice president of the ASU student government, banned from university housing and placed on permanent probation as a result of his identification in the film.\nIU could not take legal action against any students in the film, DeKoven said, but that wouldn't rule out any University-imposed sanctions. According to a column by DeKoven, if the activity had taken place behind closed doors rather than in publicly-accessible places, the University could not punish students for participating.\nCox said all of the students involved signed release forms, freeing Shane Enterprises from any legal responsibility for using the students' likenesses in the film.\nShane Enterprises said they were invited to IU by various student organizations, including some greek houses and the Citizen's Alliance for the Legalization of Marijuana (CALM), and believe they should be able to conduct filming on campuses without any restrictions.\nShane Enterprises also said they believe they have not violated any trademark laws because of fair usage provisions.\nCampus Editor Bennett Haeberle contributed to this report.