Knock-off Nigel was a 2007 television campaign against
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.
The campaign included a series of television advertisements in which the
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
ous Nigel was described as having bought unlicenced
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
s, illegally downloaded
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
s, and so on, to the accompaniment of a derisive song: "He's a knock-off Nigel..." As a result of his wrongdoings, Nigel was left lonely and despised by his peers.
Further reading
*
U.K. Industry Trust Unveils 'Knock-Off' Ad Campaign by Lars Brandle, Billboard.com (May 15, 2007)
*
The SAGE Handbook of Intellectual Property', ed. Debora Halbert and Matthew David, SAGE Publications (2014)
*
Understanding Copyright: Intellectual Property in the Digital Age' by Bethany Klein, Giles Moss, Lee Edwards, SAGE Publications (2015)
*
Transnational Financial Crime' by Nikos Passas, Taylor & Francis (2017)
*
Film Piracy, Organized Crime, and Terrorism' by
Gregory F. Treverton, RAND Corporation (2009)
See also
* ''
Beware of illegal video cassettes
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) is an organisation established in 1983 to protect and represent the interests of its members' intellectual property (IP). FACT also investigates fraud and cybercrime, and provides global due diligenc ...
''
* ''
Don't Copy That Floppy
''Don't Copy That Floppy'' was an anti-copyright infringement campaign run by the Software Publishers Association (SPA) beginning in 1992.
The video for the campaign, starring M. E. Hart as "MC Double Def DP", was filmed at Cardozo High Sch ...
''
*
Home Recording Rights Coalition
The Home Recording Rights Coalition is a non-profit advocacy organization in the U.S., whose mission is to protect the rights of consumers to view, listen to, and record radio and television broadcasts.
Founded in 1981 in response to the ''So ...
* ''
Home Taping Is Killing Music
"Home Taping Is Killing Music" was the slogan of a 1980s anti-copyright infringement propaganda campaign by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), a British music industry trade group. With the rise in cassette recorder popularity, the BPI fea ...
''
* ''
Piracy is theft
"Piracy is theft" was a slogan used by UK non-profit organization FAST (Federation Against Software Theft). It was first used in the 1980s and has since then been used by other similar organisations such as MPAA. It has also been used as a stat ...
''
*
Public information film (PIF)
*
Public service announcement
A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...
*
Spin (public relations)
In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly
providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...
* ''
Steal This Film
''Steal This Film'' is a film series documenting the movement against intellectual property directed by Jamie King, produced by The League of Noble Peers and released via the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol.
Two parts, and one special The ...
''
* ''
Who Makes Movies?
''Who Makes Movies?'' was an advertising campaign run jointly by several international associations looking to crack down on copyright infringement of motion pictures, most notably the MPAA, as part of the larger "Respect Copyrights" campaign. The ...
''
* ''
You can click, but you can't hide
"You can click, but you can't hide" is an advertising campaign run jointly by several international associations, most notably the MPAA (now the MPA) and the GVU, as part of the larger "Respect Copyrights" campaign against peer-to-peer file sharin ...
''
* ''
You Wouldn't Steal a Car
"You Wouldn't Steal a Car" is the first sentence of a public service announcement created in July 2004, which was part of the anti-copyright infringement campaign "Piracy. It's a crime." It was created by the Federation Against Copyright Theft and ...
''
References
External links
* Knock-off Nige
advert oneon
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
* Knock-off Nige
advert twoon
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
British advertising slogans
2007 neologisms
Copyright campaigns
British television commercials
2007 in the United Kingdom
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