An iconic anti-piracy advertisement from the early 2000s, famous for its dramatic warnings against illegal copying, has come under scrutiny after revelations emerged that the font used in the campaign was itself pirated. The advert, which featured the repeated line "You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't steal a handbag" alongside intense music, was widely shown on DVDs, video cassettes, and in cinemas throughout the decade.
This crime-thriller style video aimed to deter viewers from illegally copying films by equating digital piracy with tangible theft. However, in an ironic turn of events reminiscent of the very films it sought to protect, social media users identified that the font employed in the campaign was not a legitimate typeface but a pirated version of one created by a Dutch designer.
The font in question, FF Confidential, was developed by Just Van Rossum in 1992. Despite the original being licensed, an illegal clone named XBand-Rough was circulated freely. According to reports, including one from The Times, companies were charged for the use of Van Rossum's font, but the cloned XBand-Rough was distributed without charge.
A user on the social media platform Bluesky ran a frame from the anti-piracy advertisement through software designed to detect fonts and discovered that the pirated XBand-Rough was used instead of Van Rossum’s original FF Confidential. It remains unclear whether the campaign’s creators knowingly used the cloned font or whether they had licensed the original. The lack of widespread awareness about the illegality of XBand-Rough at the time suggests the possibility of an unintentional infringement.
Speaking to the technology news website TorrentFreak, Just Van Rossum expressed amusement at the discovery. “I knew my font was used for the campaign and that a pirated clone named XBand-Rough existed. I did not know that the campaign used XBand-Rough and not FF Confidential, though. So this fact is new to me, and I find it hilarious,” he said.
The advertisement depicted scenes of theft, showing items such as handbags and televisions being stolen, concluding with the stern admonition that piracy equates to crime. Following its release, the advert became an enduring piece of pop culture, persisting in public memory even after being discontinued in 2009, five years after its first appearance. It was eventually replaced by promotions supporting British cinema and thanking audiences for their support.
While there had been earlier allegations that the music accompanying the advert was pirated, these claims were subsequently disproven. The recent font piracy revelation adds a new twist to the history of the campaign.
Attempts by MailOnline to obtain comments from the bodies associated with the production and distribution of the adverts—namely the UK's anti-piracy agency FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft), the Motion Picture Association in the United States, and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore—were made but did not yield immediate responses.
Source: Noah Wire Services