Kinematograph year book (1944)

130 The Kinemaiograph Year Book. (9) . — Licensing of renters and exhibitors. (1) No person shall, in the year beginning at the commencement of this Act or any of the nine succeeding years, carry on the business of distributing registered films in Great Britain, unless — (a) there is in force a licence under this section authorising him to carry on business as a renter, or (6) an application for such a licence as aforesaid in respect of that year has been duly made and the determination of the application is still pending ; and if an}' person carries on business in contravention of this subsection, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for every day on which he so carries on business. (2) No exhibitor shall, in any exhibitors' quota year, exhibit a registered film to the public at a theatre in Great Britain, unless at the time of the exhibition — (a) there is in force a licence under this section authorising him to carry on business as an exhibitor at that theatre, or (£>) an application for a such a licence as aforesaid in respect of that year has been duly mads and the determination of the application is still pending ; and if any exhibitor exhibits a film at any theatre in contravention of this subsection, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day on which he so exhibits the film at that theatre. (3) A licence authorising a person to carry on business as a renter in Great Britain or, as the case may be, to carry on business as an exhibitor in Great Britain shall, upon application made in that behalf by the said person, and on payment of the prescribed fee, be granted to him by the Board of Trade, unless he is disqualified for holding the licence applied for : Provided that the Board of Trade may refuse to grant such a licence, unless the applicant has furnished to the Board such information, verified in such manner, as they may reasonably require for the purpose of satisfying themselves that he is not so disqualified. (4) Subject as hereinafter provided, a licence under this section authorising a person to carry on business as an exhibitor shall be limited so as to extend only to the exhibition of registered film? at such one theatre in Great Britain as may be specified in the licence : Provided that such a licence as aforesaid may be granted so as to extend to the exhibition of registered films at more than one theatre in Great Britain, subject to the limitation that the licencedoes not authorise the holder thereof to exhibit registered films at any one theatre on more than six days in the year in respect of which the licence is granted, or to exhibit registered films at more than one theatre at the same time. (5) Without prejudice to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, a person shall be disqualified for holding a licence under this section unless he has a place of business in Great Britain. (6) Where the holder of a licence under this section which is for the time being in force changes the address of his place of business in Great Britain, or ceases to have a place of business in Great Britain, he shall, as soon as practicable, notify to the Board of Trade the change of address or, as the case may be, the fact that he has ceased to have such a place of business. (7) Subject as hereinafter provided, a licence under this section shall take effect on such day not being earlier than the beginning of the year in respect of which it is granted, as may be specified in the licence, and shall continue in force until the end of that year and no longer : Provided that if, after the granting of such a licence, the holder of the licence becomes disqualified for holding it, the licence shall forthwith cease to have effect. (10) . — Provisions for securing that films exhibited in Great Britain are obtained from licensed renters. (1) An exhibitor shall not, in the period beginning at the commencement of this Act and ending with the thirty-first day of March nineteen hundred and forty-eight, exhibit on any occasion to the public at a theatre in Great Britain any film to which this Act applies, unless — (a) he has acquired the right to exhibit the film to the public at that theatre on that occasion from a person who, at the time of the acquisition, was lawfully carrying on business as a renter in Great Britain, or (6) the exhibitor is himself lawfully carrying on business as aforesaid, and has acquired the film for distribution in Great Britain. (2) If any person exhibits a film in contravention of this section, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for every day on which he so exhibits the film, (11) . — Penalties for quota offences. (1) Any person guilty of a quota offence under this Part of this Act snail be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty pounds or, on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds. (2) Where a person is convicted, on indictment, of a quota offence under this Part of this Act, then, in addition to imposing such a fine as aforesaid, the court — (a) if the offence is an offence under the provisions of this Part of this Act relating to renters' quotas, and the offender has previously been convicted of a renter's offence not less than twice (whether summarily or on indictment), may revoke any renter's licence