Pong and penguins: Europe’s best anti-piracy ads

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Pong and penguins: Europe’s best anti-piracy ads

The image might look like computer game Pong, the classic 1970s tennis programme, but in fact it’s the winner of Europe’s latest anti-piracy competition

screenshot1-200.png

Yesterday in the European Parliament six winners of the competition Hands Off My Design were announced – three students and three professionals. Organised by the European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy and supported by OHIM, the competition was intended to generate “guerrilla or viral” marketing tools. While most of the professional entries focused on the dangers of piracy, or explaining why it was like stealing from a high-street shop, the winning student entry graphically illustrated how copied material quickly swamps original content.
The game of Pong begins tamely, with the ‘copier’ gaining gigabytes of material as it exchanges shots with the ‘owner’. But as the copier grows in size, the pace of the game speeds up and the owner is knocked off, the copier eventually swamping the whole screen.
The advert, which can be seen here along with the other entries, concludes with the words ‘Piracy is not a game. We all have something to lose’. It was created by Julien Moreau from the ECV Atlantique School in France.

pirate20pic.jpg
Industry associations of copyright owners have struggled in recent years to get their message right. The introductory message on DVDs, for example, has swung between threats of prison to thanking the viewer for buying a DVD rather than downloading a copy.
As Managing IP writes in this month’s editorial, the industry’s problem has been illustrated by the reaction to legislation in the US and the shutting down of Megaupload.com.
Our second-favourite entry was also from a student: Lauri Särak’s cartoon of a pirate slowing sinking his ship as he steals more and more things, including the Mona Lisa.
The European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy is planned to be transferred to OHIM following the adoption of a regulation that will be voted on at the Parliament’s plenary session this month.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Exclusive data reveals law firms are failing to go above and beyond for their corporate clients, with in-house counsel saying advisers should consider more transparent billing processes
Arty Rajendra and Gary Moss discuss why ‘thorough and intense’ preparation, plus the odd glass of wine, led to a record FRAND victory for their client
Monday’s coverage includes news of a potentially 'game-changing' trademark development in China and how practitioners are using AI
Managing IP gives a taster of the numbers behind this year’s IP STARS trademark rankings, and looks back at our 2025 award winners
Updates from IP offices, the shifting requirements of in-house counsel, and news of London 2026 were among major talking points on Sunday
Etienne Sanz de Acedo discusses the association’s three-year plan, what he is looking forward to in San Diego, and why London came calling for 2026
Professionals from three organisations reveal what led them to sponsor Brand Action and why doing so can build camaraderie
The results of a UK government consultation on the exhaustion of IP rights and an annual review published by the EPO’s Boards of Appeal were also among the top talking points this week
The decision disregards Perlmutter’s work at the US Copyright Office and comes at a time when strong leadership and expertise are crucial
Sources say the decision to fire Shira Perlmutter raises constitutional concerns and speculate on what the decision could mean for the country’s approach to AI
Gift this article