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May 13, 2005
In the "Are you S**tting Me?" Category
Posted by Alan Wexelblat
Props to NTK for pointing out Microsoft's "Thought Thieves" short film competition. This jim dandy of a propaganda front is supposed to encourage people (primarily teenagers) to create films on "how intellectual property theft affects both individuals and society." The mind boggles. Can I please make a film about Burst, InterTrust and the umpty-zump other companies that have sued Microsoft for stealing their intellectual property?
But wait, there's more...
Microsoft helpfully tell us that entries must be the "sole work and creation of the
person submitting the film." This means, to quote NTK, "no sharing your precious intellectual property fluids with your cameraman, Mr Auteur"!
The very name ought to give pause, conjuring up as it does mad scientist images of evil mind rays siphoning out those delicate cranial gems. Never mind the basic intellectual property concept that thoughts are not protected, only various expressions of them. NTK has offered its own prizes for copies of submitted entries; somehow that seems like it'll be much more interesting.
Comments (4)
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1. Bas Burger on May 14, 2005 11:26 AM writes...
I think this is starting to become very dangerous, who the hell they think they are at MS that they have the right to bury our children under their communistic planned economy propaganda?
Permalink to Comment2. Kelly Gray on May 14, 2005 1:58 PM writes...
You missed the best part of the contest rules:
Should I be selected as a finalist in this competition, I confirm the following:
7. I will formally licence, on terms acceptable to Microsoft, all intellectual property rights in my film and agree to waive all moral rightsin relation to my film if requested to do so.
Permalink to CommentLet me see, acceptable terms, and Microsoft decides what those terms are. Why do the words irrevokable, perpetuity, and exclusive all come to mind? Who are the intellectual property thieves again?
Check "How to enter" and the "between the ages 14 and 17" for the source of the quote.
3. anonymous coward on May 16, 2005 2:01 AM writes...
I wonder how many teams will choose to do a case study about Stacker (or Stac Software, or whatever that company was called). For extra irony points, they could then release their contest submissions over a few P2P networks.
Permalink to Comment4. Dr. wex on May 16, 2005 10:28 AM writes...
Yes, I saw the acceptance terms. However, those are not very different from the terms of most competitions - the creator assigns rights, etc. The language isn't good, but it is "industry standard"
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