China and the United States launched a short film competition in Beijing open to Chinese university students to promote intellectual property rights (IPR) protection on Saturday.

The one minute film contest was jointly launched by the China Film Copyright Protection Association (CFCPA) and the Motion Picture of America Association (MPAA) during the 15th Beijing Student Film Festival.

Budding film makers must hand in their works by March 15. Films will be judged in three categories: digital video (DV), cartoons and mobile phone films, according to the organizing committee.

The first prize is a trip to Los Angeles to visit Hollywood, the Avenue of Stars, Warners Brothers Studio and Disneyland.

The festival, launched in 1993, offers a platform to small budget Chinese-made films and new directors and actors. Last year, the short-film contest with the IPR protection theme was launched, aiming to popularize knowledge among young Chinese, organizing committee sources said.

Last year, Liang Jinwei, a Guangxi University for Nationalities student, won first prize for his short entitled "Pilferage?". In it, a primary student cited an example of IPR violation as the answer to his teacher's question about what is "pilferage"? The student's answer embarrassed his teacher, parents and classmates.

Liang, now a third-year student, visited the United States last fall. He told Xinhua "I am impressed with the advanced film industry in the United States."

He said he will join in this year's contest to play a role in IPR protection.

China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and Ministry of Culture signed a memo on film copyright protection with the MPAA in July 2005, reaching consensus about copyright protection for US film products in the Chinese market.

CFCPA and MPAA signed a memorandum of understanding in March 2006, boosting China's efforts to protect film copyright.