Skibidi Toilet DMCAs Garry's Mod But Legitimacy Remains Unclear

Garry Newman, the creator of Garry's Mod, reportedly received a DMCA takedown notice targeting unauthorized Skibidi Toilet content within the game. The source of the notice initially appeared linked to Invisible Narratives, the studio behind Skibidi Toilet's film and TV projects, but this has since been disputed. The situation highlights a curious irony and raises questions about copyright ownership.

The DMCA Notice and its Origins

The notice, received on July 30th, demanded the removal of Garry's Mod games featuring Skibidi Toilet characters, asserting a lack of licensing. While Invisible Narratives was initially implicated, the alleged Skibidi Toilet creator on Discord denied sending the notice, as reported by Dexerto. This leaves the true sender currently unknown.

The Skibidi Toilet phenomenon, originating from Alexey Gerasimov's "DaFuq!?Boom!" YouTube channel, utilizes assets from Garry's Mod and Source Filmmaker. Its viral success led to merchandise and planned film/TV adaptations by Invisible Narratives.

Counterarguments and Irony

Newman shared the DMCA notice on the s&box Discord server, expressing disbelief at the situation. Invisible Narratives' claim centers on the copyright of characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet. They pointed to DaFuq!?Boom! as the original source of these characters.

The irony is palpable: Skibidi Toilet itself was created using assets from Garry's Mod. While Garry's Mod itself uses assets from Valve's Half-Life 2, Valve has authorized its release as a standalone game. This suggests Valve, as the original copyright holder of the base assets, might have a stronger legal standing than Invisible Narratives.

DaFuq!?Boom! subsequently denied involvement in the DMCA notice on the s&box Discord, adding further complexity to the situation. The notice itself cites Invisible Narratives, LLC as the copyright holder, claiming copyright on the aforementioned characters registered in 2023.

Previous Copyright Disputes

This isn't DaFuq!?Boom!'s first brush with copyright issues. Last September, they issued multiple copyright strikes against GameToons, a similar YouTube channel, eventually reaching a settlement.

The situation surrounding the Skibidi Toilet DMCA against Garry's Mod remains unresolved and raises important questions about the origins and ownership of intellectual property in the age of user-generated content and viral memes. The true sender of the DMCA remains unknown, and the legitimacy of the claim is currently under scrutiny.