Latest news with #JustvanRossum
Extra.ie
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Ironic twist: Iconic anti-piracy ad accused of pirating its own font
In an incredibly ironic twist, the font used in the 'You Wouldn't Steal A…' anti-piracy ad may have pirated the font used in the campaign. Before every DVD you bought in the mid-2000s, there were always the anti-piracy ads — equating downloading your copy of Spider-Man 2 to stealing a car or snatching someone's Nokia 3310 off a countertop (that's how old these ads are). However, in a hilarious twist of irony, the font that would theoretically dissuade users from downloading movies illegally was maybe pirated itself. Yes, really. The font that was used is, reportedly FF Confidential, created in 1992 by Just van Rossum. However, internet sleuths on Twitter clone Bluesky found that the font used in the ads may have been XBand Rough, an identical font that was an 'illegal clone' of FF Confidential that was decried by Mr van Rossum himself. With that, via the power of the Internet, some Bluesky users found the old website of the campaign, and using a tool called FontForge, found that the files did in fact use XBand Rough; so while you wouldn't steal a car/handbag/mobile phone, you could in fact steal a font. The ads have been extensively parodied over the years, most notably on the IT Crowd (albeit without the fonts and the music) but incredibly, it was also revealed that the MUSIC may have also been stolen; with the Dutch music royalty collection agency Bruma/Stemra approaching musician Melchior Reitveldt to write some music for the ad; under the condition that it only be used for a film festival in 2006. In an incredibly ironic twist, the font used in the 'You Wouldn't Steal A…' anti-piracy ad may have pirated the font used in the campaign. Pic: YouTube However, one year later when he went to put on a Harry Potter DVD, he heard the music that he composed; being used without his permission. After a five year long legal battle, which included the Bruma/Stemra offering to pay Mr Reitveldt €1million for the song (with the agency keeping one-third of that — no we're not sure how that would work either), the saga finally ended when the agency were ordered to pay restitution to the artist.
The Independent
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Famous anti-piracy campaign ‘used pirated font'
A famous anti- piracy campaign from the early 2000s which became a part of pop culture history may have itself have been the product of piracy. Social media users have discovered the font used for the dramatic 'You wouldn't steal a car' advert was pirated from a typeface created by designer Just van Rossum. The campaign compared pirating films to stealing items such as handbags and televisions and regularly appeared in cinemas and on DVDs, with dramatic music playing in the background. The thriller-style advert ended with the warning 'Piracy. It's a crime'. One Bluesky user extracted the fonts used in one of the campaign's old PDFs and made the discovery that it was actually a pirated version of Mr van Rossum's licensed font FF Confidential. Sky News reports that there was no evidence to suggest that the campaign's designers were aware that the font was pirated. At the time, Mr van Rossum's font had been illegally cloned and re-released as the font XBand-Rough, which was widely shared and free to use. "I had known about the 'illegal clone' of my font before, but I didn't know that that was the one used in the campaign,' Mr van Rossum told Sky News. "The campaign has always had the wrong tone, which (to me) explains the level of fun that has been had at its expense. The irony of it having used a pirated font is just precious.' After first appearing in 2004, the advert was discontinued in 2009 but has remained on cassettes and DVDs in people's collection.
Sky News
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
You wouldn't steal a font: Famous anti-piracy campaign may have used pirated typeface
Why you can trust Sky News A famous anti-piracy campaign from the early 2000s is in the spotlight after it appeared the font used in the adverts was pirated. The dramatic campaign compared pirating films to stealing cars, handbags and televisions, telling viewers: "You wouldn't steal a car". It appeared in cinemas and on DVDs around the world from 2004. But now, social media users have discovered the font used in the campaign was pirated from a typeface created by designer Just van Rossum. Bluesky user Rib extracted the fonts used in one of the campaign's old PDFs and discovered the pirated font Xband-Rough was used instead of Mr van Rossum's licensed font FF Confidential. Sky News was able to replicate this process and found the same results. There's no evidence to suggest that the campaign's designers were aware that the font was pirated, as copies of it were being widely shared at the time. The creator of the original font doesn't seem too worried, however. He told tech newsite TorrentFreak: "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." The adverts became a piece of pop culture history, with spoofs spawned for years afterwards. In fact, if you try to go to the campaign's official URL, you will be redirected to the most famous spoof, a sketch in the sitcom IT Crowd. Sky News contacted the organisations behind the adverts, the UK's anti-piracy agency FACT, America's Motion Picture Association and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. FACT declined to comment, saying the campaign pre-dated anyone working at the organisation.
