Entertainment / Literature / Licensing Act: By an order of 1581, new plays in Britain could not be performed until they were licensed by the Master of Revels. A separate license, granted by the Court of High Commission, was required for the play to actually be published and printed--though as Greenblatt notes, plays were in practice often pirated and printed without a license. From 1610, the Master of Revels was responsible for licensing plays for both publication and performance (Greenblatt 1142). In John Milton's time, a similar Licensing Act passed under Puritan influence in 1643. It demanded that all British writers submit their works to a parliamentary body for review. If the body disapproved, they would issue no license and thus make it illegal to publish the material. John Milton strongly opposed this licensing process, leading him to write Areopagitica as an argument in favor of free speech. See also Areopagus. Contrast with the Censorship Ordinance.
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Act Noun Synonyms: deed, action, undertaking, operation, step, move, feat, exploit, accomplishment, achievement
Act Verb Synonyms: behave (oneself), carry on, deport oneself, comport oneself, conduct oneself
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Business / Finance / Normal Investment Practice: The investment history of a customer, which is used as a benchmark to test the bona fide public offerings requirement of the allocation of a hot issue. MORE
Business / Accounting / Noncash Transactions: Investing and financing activities that do not affect cash: if significant, they are disclosed below the statement of cash flows or in the notes to the financial statements. MORE
Business / Agriculture / North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act: P.L. 103-182 (December 8, 1993) approved and implemented the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA pertains to cross-border trade between the United States, Mexico, and Canada. NAFTA subs MORE