This famous anti-piracy campaign itself is said to have forgotten copyright.

The "Piracy is a Crime" campaign, which became a cult classic in the early 2000s, is making headlines again. Nearly twenty years later, an unexpected discovery is casting doubt on its integrity.

As debates surrounding film piracy resurface in France, a new episode reminds us that the line between legality and illegality is sometimes blurred. At the end of March, a French MP admitted live on air to using an illegal IPTV service to watch paid content for free. This situation highlights the importance of raising awareness about copyright, just as the famous "Piracy is a crime" campaign, widely distributed in the 2000s, both in cinemas and on DVDs, attempted to do. The ad, famous for its punch lines like "You wouldn't steal a car," aimed to make a strong impact by equating film piracy with the theft of physical objects. Yet, nearly twenty years after its release, an ironic detail has just been revealed. According to TorrentFreak and several Internet users, the font used in the official campaign materials is an illegal copy of a commercial typeface. Instead of the FF Confidential font, created by Just Van Rossum, the documents reportedly use XBAND Rough, a free imitation largely inspired by the original.

The “Piracy is a Crime” campaign itself allegedly violated copyright rules

Research in online archives has uncovered old PDF documents related to the campaign. These files clearly incorporate the XBAND Rough font, confirming that an unlicensed version was indeed used in the official material. Even though it's unclear whether the video spot itself used this copy or a licensed version, the irony remains strong. Using a cloned font to denounce piracy shows that even official campaigns aren't immune to errors. Just Van Rossum, creator of the FF Confidential font, reacted with humor to the discovery. He says he doesn't plan to take legal action, as he hasn't been in charge of distributing the typeface for several years. However, he points out that the story illustrates the complexity of digital rights. Two decades after its creation, the "Piracy is a Crime" campaign continues to be a symbol, but also, now, a perfect example of the irony linked to the world of piracy.