Microsoft is sponsoring a short film competition in the UK entitled Thought Thieves on the subject of intellectual property theft.

Thought Thieves is about people stealing and profiting from your creation or innovation. Think about it: how would you feel if you saw your hard work being passed off as the property of someone else? What would you do?

There are two categories: 14-17 year olds, and 18+.

Submissions are limited to 45 seconds or less, presumably because intellectual property law is straightforward and uncontroversial.

I wonder if any of the entries will touch on any of the following topics:

• The difference between copyright infringement and theft.
• The founder’s idea that the grant of copyright and patent monopolies exist to promote the useful arts and sciences, and that they be limited in duration.
• That technological innovation has always lead to periods of extended discussion and compromise.
• That the doctrine of fair use exists to protect individuals who use works in a limited way.

Somehow, I suspect the films will be considerably less subtle in their treatment of this topic.