Annotated Republic of China Regulations/Enforcement Rules of the Motion Picture Act/1984

The Enforcement Rules of the Motion Picture Act as of 1984 from http://law.moj.gov.tw/Eng/news/news_detail.aspx?id=516 are shown below, with articles later amended before 27 February 2007 in separate pages.

Chapter 1: General Principles

Article 1

• These Enforcement Rules are stipulated in accordance with Article 57 of the Motion Picture Law (hereinafter referred to as "this Law").

Article 2

• A motion picture possessor as referred to in this Law is the one who is actually in possession of the motion picture. Exhibitors referred to in this Law are those who are in charge of screening motion pictures in institutions, schools and organizations.

Chapter 2: Motion Picture Production Enterprises

Article 3

• When applying for permission to establish a motion picture production enterprise, said enterprise shall meet the requirements and submit the necessary documents as stipulated. (See Appendix I for details.)

Article 4

• The completion of one feature-length film as designated in Article 7 of this Law shall be determined by submitting the film to the central authority in charge for review. In the case of co-productions, each of the participating companies shall be deemed to have completed one feature-length dramatic film when the percentage of its investment in film productions amounts to the equivalent of one feature-length film.

Article 5

• (Deleted)

Article 6

• A foreign film company dispatching a film crew to the Republic of China for location shooting shall meet the following requirements:

1. A photocopy of the certificate of the foreign film company and the shooting script shall be submitted for approval to the ROC diplomatic mission in that country or an institution there that is authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will in turn forward the documents to the central authority in charge for approval.
2. The entry of the film crew and import of the equipment shall be subject to approval by the central authority in charge.

Chapter 3: Motion Picture Distribution Enterprises

Article 7

• When applying for permission to establish a motion picture distribution enterprise, said enterprise shall meet the requirements and submit the necessary documents as stipulated. (See Appendix II for details.)

Article 8

• A motion picture distribution enterprise shall be considered as having distributed one motion picture as stipulated in Article 9 of this Law if it independently obtains the right to distribution, or independently imports the film. In the case of co-distribution, each of the participating companies shall be considered as having distributed one motion picture when the percentage of its investment in the co-distributed films is equivalent to the amount of one motion picture.

Article 9

• (Deleted)

Chapter 4: Motion Picture Screening Enterprises

Article 10 (later amended)

Article 11 (later amended)

Article 12

• The authority in charge in a special municipality, county or city shall report the name and address of, and the number of seats in the motion picture screening establishment that has been permitted to be established, to the central authority in charge for reference.

Article 13

• If motion picture screening enterprises jointly screen a motion picture, the enterprises shall submit the screening license prior to screening to the competent special municipality, county or city authority and request a photocopy of the screening license.
• The photocopy of the screening license mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be stamped with the words: "This photocopied screening license is valid for (theater) until (day, month, year)" together with the seal of the issuing authority. A photocopied screening license without these additions shall be considered null and void.

Article 14

(later deleted)

Article 15 (later amended)

Article 16 (later amended)

Article 17 (later amended)

Article 18

• Those who screen motion pictures in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of this Law shall not engage in commercial conduct. All exhibitors excluding institutions and schools shall submit a letter explicitly stating the purpose of the screening, the film title, the screening site, the number of screenings, the dates of the first and last screenings, and the estimated number of audience, along with the screening license, to the authority in charge in a special municipality, county or city for approval.

Article 19

• (Deleted)

Article 20

• While enforcing the stipulations of Article 30 of this Law, a motion picture screening enterprise may have its employees ask the audience to produce certificates of age.

Article 21

• A motion picture screening enterprise that engages in illegal actions other than the commercial screening of motion pictures shall be dealt with according to the law by the authority in charge.

Chapter 5: Motion Picture Industrial Enterprises

Article 22

• When applying for permission to establish a motion picture industrial enterprise, said enterprise shall meet the requirements and submit the necessary documents as stipulated. (See Appendix IV for details.)
• Upon receiving a permit in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the motion picture industrial enterprise may then apply for factory registration in accordance with the regulations governing factory registration.

Article 23

• A tax shall be levied on the films, celluloid and other raw materials and equipment that are imported for film production by a motion picture industrial enterprise in accordance with the tariff rates applicable to the motion picture industry. The central authority in charge shall certify that these materials are supplied for film production. They shall be used under its supervision.
• The films referred to in the preceding paragraph includes positive film, negative film, magnetic film, sound track film, and subtitle film.
• The amount consumed and the uses made of the films, celluloid, and other raw materials and equipment which have been certified by the central authority in charge shall be reported monthly to the central authority in charge for reference.

Chapter 6: Motion Picture Industry Workers

Article 24

• When applying for a certificate of registration, a worker in the motion picture industry shall meet the requirements and submit the necessary documents as stipulated. (See Appendix V for details.)

Article 25

• Anyone acting in domestic or domestically-produced motion pictures who meets the following requirements may submit his/her name, sex, age, and occupation to the central authority in charge for the issuance of a certificate of provisional registration.

1. He/she temporarily acts in a motion picture and his/her name shall not be listed as a member of the cast nor in any advertisements or promotional materials of the motion picture.
2. He/she is under the age of 16.

• If the person mentioned in Section (2) of the preceding paragraph is a student, he/she shall also submit an agreement from the school of attendance.

Article 26

• For someone who is not a Republic of China national and who participates in the planning, scripting, directing, or acting of a domestically-produced motion picture, the two preceding Articles shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Chapter 7: Motion Picture Reviews

Article 27

• Motion pictures for which screening licenses should be applied for in accordance with this Law include films, trailers, advertising films and other short films of any format or gauge.

Article 28

• An application for the review of a motion picture shall be filed in accordance with Article 25 of this Law and submitted with the following documents:

1. A membership certificate issued within the past one month by the related guild.
2. In the case of domestic motion pictures, a membership certificate issued within the past one month by a local motion picture organization, or an identification certificate issued by an ROC diplomatic mission abroad or an institution authorized by the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• The application form specified in Article 25 of this Law shall be stipulated by the central authority in charge.

Article 29

• Motion pictures shall be reviewed in the order that their applications are received. But films intended for the entertainment of the armed forces, participation in international film exhibitions, or other needs based on government policies shall be given review priority and not be subject to this limitation.
• Certificates issued by the military authority in charge shall be submitted in the review of films intended for the entertainment of the armed forces that is mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The number of such films shall not exceed four per month.

Article 30

• Applicants may, with mutual agreement, apply in accordance with the following provisions for an exchange of their respective places in the order of film review.

1. An application shall be submitted 24 hours before the film is scheduled for review. If the length of the film exceeds 3,000 meters, negotiations shall be made for an exchange of two time slots.
2. Each film is entitled to one exchange only.

• The above provisions shall not be applicable to those films which have been arranged for cutting and revision, for a second review, for the continuation of review, or the review of which has been postponed for some reason.

Article 31

• An applicant who fails to submit a film for review by the deadline prescribed by the central authority in charge shall reapply for review of said film.

Article 32

• Motion pictures that have been reviewed and approved shall receive, within three days, a screening license from the central authority in charge according to the order that approval has been granted.

Article 33

• A motion picture shall be revised as notified within a specified period of time on account of the following. An application for the review of a film shall be rejected if the applicant fails to make the revisions.

1. Inconsistencies in the plot of the film.
2. The content of the film is partially or wholly plagiarized from other dramatic films.

Article 34

• In the event that a motion picture is ordered revised, cut or banned pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Article 26 of this Law, the applicant shall be notified of the reasons.
• An applicant who objects to the notice mentioned in the preceding paragraph may state his reasons and apply for a second review within five days of receiving the notice.
• The applicant may be notified to present his case at the second review session as mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

Article 35

• If the title of a motion picture is found to be inconsistent with the plot or improper in some other way, the central authority in charge may notify the applicant to change the title.

Article 36

• If the copyright or right of distribution is transferred, the transferee shall submit the screening license and agreement of transfer to the central authority in charge and apply for a new license.

Article 37 (later amended)

Article 38

• The advertisements and promotional materials of a motion picture as referred to in Article 31 of this Law include newspaper and periodical advertisements, billboard advertisements, poster advertisements, still photograph advertisements, and any other advertisements for the motion picture in the form of words or pictures.
• The advertisements and promotional materials of a motion picture as referred to in the preceding paragraph should correspond to the content of the film, and may not contain sex or violence. A mark indicating its rating shall be in the upper right corner. The advertisements and promotional materials shall not be used without the seal of inspection stamped by the central authority in charge. The wording and pictures to be used in newspaper and periodical advertisements, billboard advertisements, and poster advertisements shall be submitted by the production company or distribution company to the central authority in charge for approval before they may be printed.

Article 39

• The projection booth in a motion picture screening establishment shall not be locked during the screening of a film. The responsible person or employees may not use excuses to delay or refuse any inspection by inspecting personnel dispatched by the central authority in charge.
• Motion picture screening enterprises that violate the stipulation in the preceding paragraph shall be dealt with by the authority in charge in accordance with the law.

Article 40

• When a motion picture that has received a screening license is shipped abroad for exhibition, its screening license shall be returned to the central authority in charge. An application shall be filed for the return of the portion or portions of a domestic or foreign film cut by the central authority in charge during its review.
• In the event that the motion picture mentioned in the preceding paragraph is shipped back from abroad while the screening license is still valid, the portion or portions originally cut shall be submitted to the central authority in charge and an application shall be filed for the return of the screening license.

Article 41

• The following motion pictures shall be destroyed by the central authority in charge:

1. Those that are confiscated pursuant to Clause 1 of Article 50 of this Law.
2. Those that have not been returned as prescribed by Clause 2 of Article 50 of this Law and whose screening license has expired.
3. The portion or portions of the motion pictures for which no application has been made for its or their return as provided for in the preceding article, and the screening license of said film has expired.

Chapter 8: Supplementary Provisions

Article 42

• When a motion picture enterprise concurrently engages in the operation of other motion picture enterprises, it shall meet the requirements for the establishment of these other motion picture enterprises.

Article 43

• Any change in the name, address, responsible person, capitalization amount or business of a motion picture enterprise shall be subject to the approval of the authority in charge before an application for the alteration of registration is filed with the commercial authority in charge.

Article 44 (later amended)

Article 45

• These Enforcement Rules shall come into force on the day of their promulgation.