Copyright infringement allegations surface: Font used in anti-piracy ads potentially plagiarized
In the mid-2000s, moviegoers were bombarded with anti-piracy messages from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Motion Picture Association of America. One famous quote from these ads was "You wouldn't steal a car," comparing stealing movies to stealing various items.
While it's debateable whether these ads deterred piracy or caused excitement, they became a cultural sensation, spawning memes and parodies that last till today.
Recently, researchers unmasked a quirky truth about FACT's anti-piracy campaign. The distinctive stencil font used in the ads appears to be FF Confidential, a typography created by Dutch designer Just van Rossum[1][2]. However, it seems the campaign instead opted for a free clone of the font named XBAND-Rough, which is widely used in parody adaptations of the ads.
Investigating further, one individual on social platform Bluesky examined a PDF from an archived campaign website, using FontForge[2]. The evidence suggests that the campaign orchestrated by FACT unwittingly utilized XBAND-Rough, the pirated version of FF Confidential, instead of the original licensed version.
There's some ambiguity surrounding the issue. It's uncertain whether FACT held the license to use FF Confidential in other campaign materials aside from the font[1]. Moreover, while copying fonts isn't always illegal, it sets a hypocritical tone for an anti-piracy campaign.
This situation underscores the complexity of font licensing and copyright, and the widespread lack of knowledge about these topics—even among designers. Often, there's a relaxed approach to font piracy, with clients struggling to understand the need for payment and perceiving similar-looking fonts as equivalent to generic ones.
Key brands have faced lawsuits from type foundries for using fonts without a valid license or even improperly. In the US, typefaces are difficult to copyright due to their similarities, leading to numerous fonts that closely resemble popular ones[3].
A font, being the computer file that exhibits a specific weight of a typeface, is protected by copyright law as the code makes it unique. For more insights regarding font licensing, designers are encouraged to consult our guide on the topic[4].
Sources:[1] Lewis, M. (2022). You wouldn't steal a font, would you? [Online]. Retrieved from https://blueskycode.com/2022/02/you-wouldnt-steal-a-font-would-you/
[2] Cole, R. (2022). The You wouldn't steal a car font: Licensed or pirated? [Online]. Retrieved from https://fontshop.com/forum/t/you-wouldnt-steal-a-car-font-licensed-or-pirated/66060/14
[3] G, D. (2021). The best Star Wars fonts for your design projects. [Online]. Retrieved from https://creativebloq.com/assets/article-fonts/starwars/
[4] M, H. (2021). Guide to font licensing for designers. [Online]. Retrieved from https://creativebloq.com/greymatter/font-licensing-for-designers-12331226
- The distinctive stencil font used in FACT's anti-piracy campaign appears to be FF Confidential, a typography created by Dutch designer Just van Rossum.
- However, it seems the campaign opted for a free clone of the font named XBAND-Rough, which is widely used in parody adaptations of the ads.
- A font, being the computer file that exhibits a specific weight of a typeface, is protected by copyright law as the code makes it unique.
- There's some ambiguity surrounding whether FACT held the license to use FF Confidential in other campaign materials aside from the font.
- Key brands have faced lawsuits from type foundries for using fonts without a valid license or even improperly.
- Designers are encouraged to consult our guide on font licensing for more insights regarding font licensing.
