1.1.2007

The exhibitor of an audio-visual programme is a person, institution or undertaking who exhibits films or other audio-visual programmes in public (in a movie theatre or shop, at a hotel or restaurant, etc.).

The distributor of a film is a person, institution or undertaking (a shop, kiosk, mail-order company, library, etc.) who offers audio-visual programmes to the public for sale, rental or lending or to be conveyed otherwise. Also Video-on-Demand service (i.e., the making of an audio-visual programme and its programme contents available to the public over a telecommunications network) constitutes distribution.

The distributor of magazines or newspapers is also deemed a distributor of audio-visual programmes if recordings of audio-visual programmes are distributed with the papers.

The exhibitor or distributor shall have a film classified (if it is exhibited or distributed to persons who have not attained the age of 18) or submit a notification thereon (if it is exhibited or distributed to adults, or film is exempt from classification on grounds mentioned in sections 4 and 4a of the act) ) prior to its exhibition/distribution. When exhibiting a film, it shall be accompanied by the classification decision or a register extract indicating inter alia the age category of the film. The recordings of audio-visual programmes being distributed shall bear age-category markings complying with the regulations.

Audio-visual programmes exempted from classification may be exhibited also to persons who have not attained the age of 18 in the activities of a university, a polytechnic or other publicly supervised educational establishment as well as a public library and the Finnish Film Archives, and at a conference dealing with scientific or artistic matters, at a meeting of a learned society and at comparable events. If the films to be exhibited at these events are classified, the age categories must, however, be complied with.

Irrespective of the manner of distribution or the place of exhibition, the exhibitor and the distributor shall ensure that unclassified audio-visual programmes are not exhibited and distributed to persons who have not attained the age of 18 and classified audio-visual programmes are not distributed in violation of the age category.