YNOT – Gay adult studio Corbin Fisher has been named the winner of the Free Speech Coalition’s 2010 Award of Excellence, the trade association announced Thursday. The award will be presented Feb. 8.
The annual FSC Award of Excellence is presented to a GLBT adult industry company that exemplifies ethical business standards, innovative business practices and community activism.
“When Corbin Fisher’s founder and [chief executive officer] Jason Gibson started this company, he had firm beliefs on what he felt a business should do and be,” Chief Operating Officer Brian Dunlap said. “Many of us at CF have worked for large corporations—places where you often find yourself thinking, ‘If I was the one with final say, this is how I’d do things.’ Ultimately, he and the rest of us here found ourselves in precisely that position: where we could make the final decisions and shape a company into what we felt it should be.”
In 2008, the studio drafted a formal policy for fair and ethical treatment of models, and an FSC spokeswoman said the policy since has become a model for other adult entertainment companies. The company routinely donates to charitable organizations, most recently giving $60,000 to a GLBT activist group in Florida. Corbin Fisher employees are encouraged to donate time and resource to charities and nonprofits.
“Many of us have strong beliefs when it comes to certain philanthropic or social causes, and so it was truly a privilege to be able to have the resources to help causes we feel strongly about,” Dunlap said.
The company also aggressively pursues copyright infringers, often resulting in widespread attention for the piracy problem.
“With regard to piracy, we do feel we not only have the right but the obligation to protect our intellectual property rights and protect the livelihoods and well-being of our employees and their families,” Dunlap said. “Sure, copyright infringement and content theft are inevitable. That does not mean, however, that there’s no point in doing anything about them.
“Many people can be dissuaded from engaging in such behavior through effective legal action. Real results can be achieved against those infringing upon our rights—and, yes, revenues can be recovered through effective legal action,” he added. “We work very hard to produce our material and satisfy our fans and members.”
Dunlap also said although the company is proud of the receiving the FSC Award of Excellence, the principles and practices utilized at Corbin Fisher are shared by other adult industry companies.
“Being presented with FSC’s Award of Excellence is a genuine honor,” he said. “We have a great deal of respect for the Free Speech Coalition and what it does, so recognition from such an organization indeed means a lot to us.
“We know we’re not the only company that has close relationships with its models,” Dunlap continued. “We know this industry is full of people who are informed and passionate about a variety of causes. We certainly know we’re not the only ones impacted by piracy and content theft and that felt a need to do something about it. Whereas we’re being recognized by FSC here and are truly honored by it, we feel this is as much recognition for those principles as it is for Corbin Fisher.”
Sue Denim is a freelance journalist specializing in sexuality and the adult entertainment industry.
