Garry Newman, creator of the popular game Garry's Mod, reportedly received a DMCA takedown notice related to unauthorized Skibidi Toilet content within the Garry's Mod community. The situation is shrouded in mystery, however, as the true source of the notice remains unclear.
The Alleged DMCA:
The notice demanded the removal of Garry's Mod games featuring Skibidi Toilet assets, claiming a lack of licensing. While initial reports implicated Invisible Narratives (the studio behind Skibidi Toilet's film and TV projects), the alleged sender, a Discord user seemingly associated with the Skibidi Toilet creator, has denied responsibility, as reported by Dexerto.
The Irony:
The irony is striking. The Skibidi Toilet series itself utilizes assets from Garry's Mod, created by Newman for Valve's Half-Life 2. Alexey Gerasimov's YouTube channel, DaFuq!?Boom!, ports these assets to Source Filmmaker (another Valve product) to create the viral Skibidi Toilet videos. This raises questions about the legitimacy of Invisible Narratives' copyright claims, especially considering Valve's implicit endorsement of Garry's Mod's use of Half-Life 2 assets.
Counterarguments and Responses:
Newman publicly shared the DMCA notice on the s&box Discord server, highlighting the absurdity of the situation. Invisible Narratives' notice asserts copyright ownership of characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet. They cite DaFuq!?Boom! as the origin of these characters.
DaFuq!?Boom! subsequently denied any involvement in sending the DMCA notice via the s&box Discord, adding to the confusion. The notice itself was reportedly sent "on behalf of copyright holder: Invisible Narratives, LLC," citing 2023 copyright registration for "Titan Cameraman and 3 Other Unpublished Works."
Previous Copyright Disputes:
This isn't DaFuq!?Boom!'s first brush with copyright controversy. Last September, they issued multiple copyright strikes against GameToons, a similar YouTube channel, eventually reaching a settlement after a tense standoff.
The situation surrounding the DMCA notice to Garry's Mod remains unresolved, raising significant questions about copyright ownership, the origin of the notice, and the implications for creators using Garry's Mod and its assets. The true source and validity of the claim remain uncertain.
