Garry's Mod creator, Garry Newman, reportedly received a DMCA takedown notice targeting unauthorized Skibidi Toilet Garry's Mod games. The notice, from an initially unidentified source, claimed a lack of licensing for Skibidi Toilet content within Garry's Mod. While initially attributed to Invisible Narratives, the studio behind Skibidi Toilet's film and TV adaptations, the DMCA sender's identity remains disputed. A Discord profile allegedly belonging to the Skibidi Toilet creator denied sending the notice, as reported by Dexerto.
The irony lies in the Skibidi Toilet series' origins: assets from Garry's Mod, a mod for Valve's Half-Life 2, were used by YouTuber Alexey Gerasimov (DaFuq!?Boom!) to create the viral series. This series' immense popularity spawned merchandise and plans for a movie and TV series. Invisible Narratives' claim asserts copyright ownership over characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet. They cite DaFuq!?Boom! as the original source of these characters.
Newman revealed the DMCA on the s&box Discord server, highlighting the unexpected nature of the claim given the series' origins. Invisible Narratives' assertion of copyright is particularly striking considering Garry's Mod's own reliance on Half-Life 2 assets, a situation sanctioned by Valve. Valve's position, as the original owner of Half-Life 2 assets, would likely supersede Invisible Narratives' claim.
DaFuq!?Boom! subsequently denied involvement in the DMCA notice on the same Discord server, expressing a desire to contact Newman to clarify the situation. The DMCA notice itself lists "Invisible Narratives, LLC" as the copyright holder, citing copyright registration in 2023 for the aforementioned characters.
The situation remains unresolved, with the DMCA sender's identity and the validity of the claims uncertain. This isn't DaFuq!?Boom!'s first brush with copyright disputes; last September, they issued multiple copyright strikes against YouTuber GameToons, a conflict eventually resolved through an undisclosed agreement. The current situation underscores the complexities of copyright in the digital age, especially concerning derivative works and the rapid evolution of online memes and their commercialization.
