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A.D. 1927.

Restrictions on advance booking.

Penalty on contraventions.

Provisions

as to existing agreements.

Prohibition

against

(b) in the case of a serial film or a series of films within the meaning of this Act, it shall be sufficient if any three parts thereof have been registered or a valid application for the registration of three parts thereof has been made. 5 (2) In the case of a film which has not been previously exhibited to exhibitors or to the public in Great Britain, this section shall not operate so as to prohibit the making prior to the registration or application for registration thereof of an agreement for the exhibition of the film in 10 one theatre only on a number of consecutive days if at the time of the making of the agreement a copy of the film is in physical existence in Great Britain.

2. As from the commencement of this Act, no agreement shall be entered into for the exhibition to the 15 public in Great Britain at a date more than six months from the date of the agreement of any film to which this Act applies, whether or not the film has been exhibited to the public in Great Britain before the commencement of this Act:

Provided that in the case of a serial film or a series of films within the meaning of this Act, the said period of six months shall apply only in respect of the date of exhibition of the first three parts.

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3. If any person enters into an agreement in con- 25 travention of this Part of this Act, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

4. Any agreement entered into before the commencement of this Act which if entered into after the 30 commencement of this Act would be an illegal agreement under the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act shall, if and so far as it affects any films to be delivered for public exhibition after the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-eight, cease to 35 have effect on that day.

PART II.

REGISTRATION OF FILMS.

5.-(1) On and after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and twenty-eight, no film to which 40 exhibition of this Act applies, or, in the case of a serial film or a series

unregistered

films.

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of films, no part thereof, shall be exhibited to the A.D. 1927. public in Great Britain unless the film or the part thereof exhibited has been registered in accordance with this Part of this Act:

Provided that

(a) a film may before registration be exhibited for
the purpose of a trade show;

(b) the prohibition contained in this section shall
not apply to a film which has been exhibited
to exhibitors or to the public before the
commencement of this Act.

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(2) If any person exhibits a film, or, in the case of a serial film or a series of films, any part thereof, in contravention of this section he shall be guilty of an 15 offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for each day on which the film or part has been so exhibited.

6.—(1) The Board of Trade shall keep a register of Registration films to which this Act applies, and shall enter therein of films. 20 such particulars as may be prescribed; and the register

shall specify whether the film is registered as a British film or a foreign film.

(2) An application to register a film shall be made by or on behalf of the maker or renter of the film, and 25 shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee, and by such information as the Board of Trade may require, and in particular, where the application is for the registration of the film as a British film, such information as may be necessary to determine whether the film is a British 30 film.

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(3) An application shall not be a valid application unless the film has been trade shown, nor if more than fourteen days have elapsed since it was trade shown: Provided that(a) a provisional application may be made before a film has been trade shown, and such a provisional application shall be a valid application if the applicant shows to the satisfaction of the Board that the film was trade shown within fourteen days after the lodging of the provisional application;

A.D. 1927.

Inspection of register, &c.

Correction of register.

Power to require

reference to High Court.

(b) an application made more than fourteen days after the film was trade shown may be accepted by the Board as a valid application if satisfied that the delay was due to special circumstances and was not intentional.

(4) On the registration of a film, the Board shall issue to the applicant a certificate of registration, and the certificate shall state the length of the film and whether the film is registered as a British film or a foreign film.

7.—(1) The register of films kept under this Act shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any person on payment of the prescribed fee, and any person inspecting the register may on payment of the prescribed fee make copies or extracts from the register.

(2) Any person may on payment of the prescribed fee require to be furnished with a copy of any entry in the register certified to be a true copy by an officer of the Board of Trade appointed to keep the register.

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(3) A certificate of registration and a copy of any 20 entry purporting to be certified as a true copy by such officer as aforesaid shall in all legal proceedings be evidence of the matters stated therein without proof of the signature or authority of the person signing it.

8. (1) If the Board of Trade at any time have 25 reason to believe that the length of a film has been incorrectly registered, or that a film has been incorrectly registered as a British film, they may call for such evidence as they think fit as to the correctness or otherwise of the registration, and if satisfied that the film has 30 been incorrectly registered, they shall correct the register and issue an amended certificate of registration.

(2) On the issue of an amended certificate, the former certificate shall cease to have effect, except that the Board of Trade may in any particular case allow the 35 film to be counted for the purposes of the provisions of Part III. of this Act relating to renters' and exhibitors' quotas as being of the length originally registered, or as a British film, as the case may be.

9.-(1) If any person is aggrieved by the refusal 40 of the Board of Trade to register a film, or to register a film as a British film, or by a decision of the Board to

correct the registration of a film, the matter shall, subject A.D. 1927. to rules of court, be referred by the Board of Trade to the High Court for determination, and the decision of the Court on any such reference shall be final and no appeal 5 shall lie therefrom to any other court.

(2) In the application of this section to Scotland the reference to the High Court shall be construed as a reference to the Court of Session.

10. (1) If the length of a film is substantially Provisions 10 altered after an application for registration thereof has as to alterabeen lodged or after the registration thereof, it shall be tions of the length of the duty of the applicant or the person in whose name films. it is registered, as the case may be, to send to the Board of Trade notice of the alteration, and if he fails to do 15 so, he shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(2) Any question as to whether an alteration of the length of a film is a substantial alteration within the 20 meaning of this section shall be determined by the Board of Trade.

11.-(1) On every copy of a registered film there Marking of shall be marked in the prescribed manner :

(a) the registered number of the film;

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(b) the registered length of the film;

(c) the words "registered as a British film” or
"registered as a foreign film," as the case

may be.

(2) If after a film has been so marked the registration 30 of the film is corrected in manner provided by this Part of this Act, a corresponding alteration shall be made in the marks on all copies of the film.

(3) If any person issues to an exhibitor for exhibition to the public a copy of any registered film not marked 35 in accordance with the provisions of this section, or incorrectly marked, he shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds in respect of each copy.

12. In the case of a serial film or a series of films 40 within the meaning of this Act, the provisions of this

registered films.

Special provisions as to

serial films,

A.D. 1927. Part of this Act shall apply subject to the following modifications:

Provisions as to renters' quota.

(1) The separate parts of the film or series of films shall be separately registered and each part shall be treated as a separate film :

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(2) Where three parts of the film or series have
been trade shown, any other part may be
registered without having been trade shown
and notwithstanding that more than fourteen
days have elapsed since the said three parts 10
were trade shown; but before the registration
of any part which has not been trade shown
satisfactory evidence must be produced to the
Board of Trade that a copy thereof is in physical
existence in Great Britain and that a reasonable 15
opportunity of viewing it will be afforded to
any exhibitor desirous of viewing it :

Provided that if the Board are at any time of
opinion that it is no longer desirable to dispense
with a trade show in the case of the remaining 20
parts of serial films and series of films, they may
make an order to that effect, and on the making
of the order this paragraph shall cease to apply.

PART III.

PROVISIONS FOR SECURING QUOTA OF BRITISH FILMS. 25
Renters' Quota.

13.-(1) In the year nineteen hundred and twenty-
eight and every subsequent year, any person engaged in
the business of renting registered films to exhibitors for
the purpose of public exhibition in Great Britain 30
(hereinafter referred to as a renter) shall acquire for the
purposes of such renting a total length of registered
British films representing at least such proportion of
the total length of all registered films so acquired by him
in the year as is specified as respects the year in Part I. 35
of the Schedule to this Act, and such proportion is
hereinafter referred to as the renters' quota.

(2) If in any year a renter fails to comply with the requirements of this Part of this Act as to the renters' quota he shall be guilty of an offence, unless such a 40 certificate as is hereinafter mentioned has been issued

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