Anti-Piracy Ad Ironically May Have Used Stolen Font

Remember the “You Wouldn’t Steal a Car” anti-piracy ads from the early 2000s? Well, the campaign aimed at deterring illegal downloads may have committed a copyright infringement of its own – with its choice of font.

The public service announcement (PSA), a joint effort by the UK’s Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), showed the consequences of stealing physical items. It suggested that downloading pirated movies was no different. The ads, while short-lived, became ingrained in popular culture and a frequent parody subject.

Here’s the ironic twist: the font used in the ads may have been an unauthorized copy. According to TorrentFreak, the campaign appears to have used the “FF Confidential” font, designed in 1992 by Just Van Rossum, whose brother created the Python programming language. However, they may have used a virtually identical, freely distributed font called “XBand Rough” released in 1996.

Journalist Melissa Lewis brought the similarity to Van Rossum’s attention. Van Rossum confirmed that XBand Rough is an “illegal clone” of FF Confidential.

“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,” Van Rossum told the publication.

A Bluesky user found evidence using the Wayback Machine of the XBand Rough font embedded in a 2005 PDF file on the official anti-piracy campaign website.

Van Rossum isn’t pursuing legal action, as he no longer handles distribution. Monotype now manages the licensing. FontShop International held exclusive rights until 2014.

The situation is rich with irony. The very campaign meant to combat theft may have unintentionally engaged in it.

Source: TorrentFreak