Regulations on the Administration of Movies (1996)

Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Regulations are formulated for the purposes of strengthening the administration of the film industry, developing and promoting film undertakings, satisfying the needs of the people for cultural life and promoting the construction of socialist material and spiritual civilization.

Article 2 These Regulations shall apply to activities of the production, import, export, distribution and projection, etc., of feature films, documentary films, science and educational films, films of special subjects, cartoons and puppet films, etc., within the territory of the People's Republic of China.

Article 3 Activities concerning films such as film production, import, export, distribution and projection, etc., must persevere in the direction of serving the people and socialism.

Article 4 The administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council shall take charge of the nationwide work of films.

Administrative department for films of people's governments at and above the county level shall, in accordance with these Regulations, be responsible for the administration of films within their respective regions.

Article 5 National social organizations in film industry shall, in accordance with their constitutions and under the guidance of the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council, exercise self-discipline in the management.

Article 6 The state shall give rewards to organizations and individuals having made remarkable contributions to the development of film undertakings.

Chapter II Production of Films
Article 7 Films shall be produced by film studios.

Article 8 The establishment of a film studio must be in conformity with the plan on the total number, distribution and structure of film studios formulated by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council, and satisfies the following requirements:

(1) Have the aim and constitution of the film studio;

(2) Have definite scope of business;

(3) Have the funds suitable to its business;

(4) Have place and equipment according with stipulations for film production; and

(5) Have an organizational structure and professional personnel suitable to the demands of the business.

Article 9 For applying for the establishment of a film studio, the administrative department in charge of the applicant unit shall submit an application to the administrative department for films of the local people's government of the province, autonomous region and municipality directly under the central government for examination and permission, and the latter, if giving permission, shall submit the application to the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council for examination and approval.

The application shall include the following items:

(1) The name, address and economic nature of the film studio to be established;

(2) The name, address and nature of the administrative department in charge of, and the sponsor of, the film studio to be established;

(3) The name, address and credentials of the legal representative of the film studio to be established; and

(4) The source and amount of the funds of the film studio to be established.

Article 10 The administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council shall, within 180 days after receiving the application for establishing a film studio, make a decision on whether or not to approve it, notify the applicant in writing of the decision, and give reasons if the application has not been approved. Where the application is approved, the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council shall issue a License for Film Production to the applicant and, by producing the license, the applicant shall register with the administrative department for industry and commerce of the State Council and draw a Business License therefrom.

Article 11 A film studio shall, to the extent of all its assets, enjoy civil rights and assume civil obligations in accordance with the law.

Article 12 The state shall carry out annual inspection on licenses for film production, the measures for which shall be formulated by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council.

Article 13 Changes and termination of a film studio shall be subject to to the approval of the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council, and shall go through the registration for changes or formalities for cancellation.

Article 14 Film studios may engage in the following activities:

(1) Produce films;

(2) Make reproductions of films produced by themselves;

(3) In accordance with relevant provisions of the state, distribute films and their reproductions produced by themselves and allowed to be projected publicly; and

(4) In accordance with relevant provisions of the state, export films and their reproductions produced by themselves and allowed to be projected publicly.

Article 15 Film studios shall establish and improve the management system and guarantee the quality of the films.

Article 16 Film studios shall enjoy copyrights over the films produced by themselves. Except as otherwise stipulated by laws or regulations, any unit or individual shall get authorization from the copyright owner before exploiting a film product by means of reproduction, distribution, projection, broadcast, publication, dubbing, adaptation or the like.

Anyone who exploits a film product under the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall conclude a contract with the copyright owner and pay remuneration in accordance with the stipulations of the contract.

Article 17 The state encourages official organs, enterprises, institutions and other social organizations and citizens to participate in film production by investing or giving financial aid, the measures for which shall be formulated by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council.

Article 18 Film studios may, either inside or outside China, produce films in cooperation with external film producers.

Article 19 For Sino-foreign joint production of a film, the Chinese side shall submit an application in advance to the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council, and the latter shall, after getting opinions from relevant departments and considering it in conformity with relevant provisions after examination, issue a Permit for Sino-Foreign Joint Production of Films only for the present application. After obtaining the permit, the applicant shall, in accordance with relevant provisions, conclude a contract for the joint production.

Article 20 When there is a need to import equipment, materials, film or props for the Sino-foreign joint production of a film, the producer shall go through the import or temporary import formalities with the customs by producing the approval document issued by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council.

Article 21 When producing films in cooperation with Chinese film studios or in other forms in the territory of the people's republic of China, external film producers shall observe laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China and respect the customs and habits of various Chinese nationalities.

Article 22 The development and later production of negatives and sample copies of a film produced either by a domestic film studio or a Sino-foreign joint effort shall be done in the territory of the People's Republic of China. When it needs to be completed outside China due to some special technological demands, a specific application shall be submitted to the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council for approval.

Chapter III Examination of Films
Article 23 The state shall adopt a film examination system.

Films that have not examined and approved by the film examination organ of the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council may not be distributed, projected, imported or exported.

Article 24 Films are forbidden to have the following contents:

(1) Those endangering the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state;

(2) Those harming the security, honor and interests of the state;

(3) Those inciting national splitism and disrupting the unity of nationalities;

(4) Those divulging state secrets;

(5) Those publicizing obscenity or superstitions or playing up violence;

(6) Those libeling or insulting other people; or

(7) Other contents prohibited by the state.

Films shall be up to the national standards in terms of technological quality.

Article 25 Film studios shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 24, conduct examination on scenarios before they are put into production and on films before they are dispatched from the studios.

Film studios shall submit the scenarios which they plan to put into production to the film examination organ for filing, the measures of which shall be formulated by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council.

Article 26 Film studios shall, after the completion of a film production, submit the film to the film examination organ for examination and pay the examination fee in accordance with relevant provisions of the state. Units engaging in film import shall, after going through the formalities for the temporary import of a film, submit the film to the film examination organ for examination and pay the examination fee.

The schedule of fees for film examination shall be fixed by the financial department and price department of the State Council together with the administrative department of radio, film, and television of the State Council.

Article 27 The film examination organ shall, within 30 days after receiving the film submitted for examination, notify the submitting unit in writing of the decision on the examination and, if the film has passed the examination, issue a Permit for Film Projection for this film. Film studios and units engaging in film import shall put the number of their Permit for Film Projection on the title of the first copy of the film.

Article 28 If refusing to accept the decision of the film examination, the film studio or the unit engaging in film import may, within 30 days after receiving the decision, apply re-examination to the film re-examination organ of the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council; the latter shall issue a Permit for Film Projection for the film if it passes the re-examination.

Chapter IV Import and Export of Films
Article 29 Import of films shall be managed by units approved by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council for engaging in film import; without approval, no other units or individuals may engage in film import.

Article 30 For importing films for examination, the unit engaging in film import shall go through the formalities for temporary import with the customs by producing the approval document issued by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council.

Films imported for public projection shall be examined by the film examination organ; those having passed the examination shall be issued a Permit for Film Projection and documents approving the import. Only by producing the documents approving the import may the unit engaging in film import go through the formalities for import with the customs.

Article 31 Units engaging in film import shall exploit film products with the license and within the scope of the license of the copyright owner of the film; without the license, no unit or individual may exploit imported film products.

Article 32 The ownership of copyright to a dubbed film shall be stipulated by the dubbing party and entrusting party in the film-dubbing contract; in case of failure to have such stipulations in the contract, the copyright to the dubbed film shall be owned by the dubbing party.

Article 33 For exporting a film produced by themselves, a film studio may go through the formalities for film export with the customs by producing the Permit for Film Projection.

Article 34 For exporting a film produced by a Sino-foreign joint effort, the Chinese side may go through the formalities for film export with the customs by producing the Permit for Film Projection.

Article 35 For importing films of special subjects as reference materials for scientific research or education, the importing unit shall submit an application to the relevant administrative department of the State Council for approval and, with an approval document, they may go through the formalities for import with the customs and shall, within 30 days after the import, report to the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council for filing.

China Film Library may directly go through the formalities with the customs for importing reference films, and report to the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council for filing by the quarter. No other units or individuals may import feature films or other films prohibited by the state in the name of scientific research or education.

Article 36 For holding a Sino-foreign film exhibition or international film festival or participating in foreign-related film exchange activities such as film exhibition or film festival held abroad, an application shall be submitted to the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council for approval, and the films to be involved in the exchanges shall be submitted to the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council for examination; only with the approval can the formalities for temporary import or export of films be handled with the customs.

Chapter V The Distribution and Projection of Films
Article 37 Film distribution and projection units to be established must satisfy the requirements specified by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council.

Article 38 For establishing a film distribution unit, an application shall be submitted to the administrative department for films of the local people's government of province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government, which shall, if considering it in conformity with stipulations after examination, issue a Business License for Film Distribution; the applicant shall register with the local administrative department for industry and commerce by producing the license.

Article 39 For establishing a film distribution unit involving more than one province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the central government, an application shall be submitted to the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council, which shall, if considering it in conformity with stipulations after examination, issue a Business License for Film Distribution; the applicant shall register with the local administrative department for industry and commerce by producing the license.

Article 40 For establishing a film projection unit, an application shall be submitted to the administrative department for films of the local people's government at or above the county level, which shall, if considering it in conformity with stipulations after examination, issue a Business License for Film Projection; the applicant shall register with the local administrative department for industry and commerce by producing the license.

Article 41 In case of changes or termination of a film distribution or projection unit, approval from the original approving department must be obtained, and the registration for changes or cancellation shall be conducted in accordance with the law.

Article 42 The state shall adopt an annual inspection system to the Business License for Film Distribution and the Business License for Film Projection. Measures for the annual inspection shall be formulated by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council.

Article 43 For distributing or projecting a film, one must hold a Permit for Film Projection issued by administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council.

Article 44 For producing audio-visual products by exploiting films, the license from the copyright owner of the film must be obtained, and the procedures for publication, reproduction, distribution and projection shall be completed in accordance with the provisions of the State Council concerning the administration of audio-visual products.

No unit or individual may use reference films for profit-seeking activities or disguised profit-seeking activities.

Article 45 The ratio of time spent on the projection of domestic films and that spent on the projection of the imported films shall be consistent with stipulations.

The time spent every year by a film projection unit on the projection of domestic films may not be less than two thirds of the total time spent annually by the same projection unit on film projection.

Article 46 Film projection units shall maintain the public order and general sanitation of the cinemas and guarantee the safety and health of the audiences.

Article 47 In some special cases, the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council may make a decision of deletion or suspension of projection on films already having the Permit for Film Projection; all film distribution and projection units shall carry out such decisions.

Chapter VI The Guarantee for Film Undertakings
Article 48 The state shall establish and improve a film administration system compatible with the socialist market economy in order to develop the film undertakings.

Article 49 The state shall guarantee the freedom in film creation, value and foster talented persons for film undertakings, attach importance to and strengthen the theoretical research in films, promote film creation and improve the quality of films.

Article 50 The state shall set up a special foundation for the development of film undertakings and adopt other favorable measures to support the development of film undertakings.

Article 51 The special foundation for the development of the film undertakings shall support or give aid to the following projects:

(1) The production of major films and collection of highly rated scenarios advocated and confirmed by the state;

(2) Technological or equipment transformation of key film production bases;

(3) Transformation of film projection equipment;

(4) The development of film undertakings in minority nationality regions or remote border and poverty-stricken areas; and

(5) Other projects needing support.

Article 52 The state encourages and support the production, distribution and projection of science and educational films, children's films, cartoons and puppet film, etc.

Article 53 The state shall give favored treatment to the film distribution and projection in economically undeveloped areas and rural regions.

Article 54 Local people's governments at various levels shall incorporate the plan for the building of film projection facilities into their local construction planning.

Rebuilding of film projection facilities shall be submitted to the administrative department for films of the local people's government at or above the county level for approval. The facilities rebuilt may not be smaller than the original in size, nor the use of film projection facilities for other purposes shall be allowed.

Article 55 People's governments at and above the county level and their relevant administrative departments shall take timely actions to stop acts of disturbing, obstructing or sabotaging film production, distribution or projection, investigate and deal with the illegal activities in accordance with the law.

Chapter VII Penalty Provisions
Article 56 Units of film production, import, distribution and projection established without approval shall be banned by the administrative department for films of the local people's government at or above the county level with the illegal articles and earnings confiscated and a fine from five to ten times the illegal earnings.

Article 57 In cases of violations of these Regulations by importing, distributing or projecting a film without a Permit for Film Projection, the administrative department for films of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order a stop to the illegal activities, confiscate the illegal articles and earnings and impose a fine from ten to fifteen times the illegal earnings; if the circumstances are serious, a suspension for rectification shall be ordered or the license revoked by the organ issued the license; when a crime is constituted, the criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law.

Article 58 In cases of violations of these Regulations by committing any of the following acts, the administrative department for films of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order a stop to the illegal activities, confiscate the illegal articles and earnings and impose a fine from five to ten times the illegal earnings; if the circumstances are serious, a suspension for rectification shall be ordered or the license revoked by the organ issued the license; when a crime is constituted, the criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law:

(1) Produce films in cooperation with external organizations or persons without approval;

(2) Import films without examination and approval;

(3) Use reference films for profit-seeking activities or disguised profit-seeking activities;

(4) Fail to observe the decision of the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council of the deletion or suspension of projection on a film; or

(5) Illegally reproduce films.

Article 59 In cases of violations of these Regulations by making development or later production of the negatives or sample copies of a film outside China without approval, the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council shall order a stop to the illegal activities and set a time limit for correction; if the circumstances are serious, the Permit for Film Production shall be revoked.

Article 60 Sino-foreign film exhibitions and international film festivals held without approval and the participation in external film exhibitions or film festivals without approval shall be banned by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council with the illegal earnings confiscated and a fine from five to ten times the illegal earnings.

Article 61 Personnel of the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council and the administrative department for films of local people's governments at and above the county level and other relevant administrative personnel who, in conducting the administration of films, abuse their powers, neglect their duties or play favoritism and commit irregularities shall be investigated for criminal responsibility if a crime is constituted, or given a disciplinary sanction if the circumstances are not serious enough to constitute a crime.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 62 Units of film production, import, distribution and projection established before the implementation of these Regulations according to the state's provisions other than these Regulations shall, within six months of the effective date of these Regulations, go through relevant formalities anew in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.

Article 63 Measures for the production and broadcast of telefilms shall be formulated by the administrative department of radio, film and television of the State Council in accordance with the principles confirmed in these Regulations.

Article 64 These Regulations shall go into effect on July 1, 1996.