In the movie, undergraduate student Riri Williams creates a vibranium detector in her metallurgy course at MIT. As the US government was actively looking for vibranium deposits to mine the resource, they found value in Riri's project and became interested in utilizing it for their own purpose. Although this technology was created by Riri, she did not file for a patent, meaning MIT owned her device. Without consulting Riri, MIT sold her invention to the U.S. government and they begin using it to detect vibranium in the ocean. Riri did not know about their activity and was unaware of the government's interest in her technology.  

The government utilizing RIri's invention without her permission raises ethical arguments about whether they should have consulted her before using her creation. This relates to students' struggles in modern society, because as of 2023, "MIT owns the intellectual property that results from MIT resources and opportunities"[4]. This is due to the Bayh Dole Act, which allows universities to own patentable inventions from federally funded research[5]. Additionally, the conflict between Wakanda and other world leaders raises the question of whether resources found in a country's borders should be shared and who gets to decide how that resource is used. This relates back to property laws and John Locke's definition of property. According to John Locke, people have the right to resources gathered from nature through their own labor. His definition of property maintains only when people remove something considered a public resource, there is still enough left for others to obtain through their own labor. Looking at vibranium as a form of property through John Locke's lens, as long as there is enough vibranium in Wakanda, it should be shared with other nations.