Garry Newman, creator of Garry's Mod, reportedly received a DMCA takedown notice concerning unauthorized Skibidi Toilet content within the Garry's Mod platform. The sender's identity remains unclear, despite initial reports implicating Invisible Narratives, the studio behind the Skibidi Toilet movie and TV franchises. A Discord profile seemingly belonging to the Skibidi Toilet creator has since denied sending the notice, as reported by Dexerto.
The DMCA Claim and its Irony:
The notice alleges that there's no licensed Skibidi Toilet content for Garry's Mod and demands the removal of related games. This is ironic, considering Skibidi Toilet's origins: The YouTube series, created by Alexey Gerasimov (DaFuq!?Boom!), utilizes assets from Garry's Mod, ported into Source Filmmaker. The series' immense popularity led to merchandise and planned film/TV adaptations by Invisible Narratives.
Invisible Narratives' notice asserts copyright ownership over characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet, citing DaFuq!?Boom! as the original source. However, the situation is complex. While Garry's Mod itself uses assets from Valve's Half-Life 2 (with Valve's permission), Valve, as the original copyright holder, arguably has a stronger claim than Invisible Narratives.
Reactions and Denials:
Garry Newman shared the DMCA notice on the s&box Discord, highlighting its absurdity. DaFuq!?Boom! subsequently denied involvement on the same server, expressing confusion and seeking contact with Newman. The DMCA notice is attributed to an unknown source "on behalf of copyright holder: Invisible Narratives, LLC," referencing a 2023 copyright registration for the aforementioned characters.
Previous Copyright Disputes:
This isn't DaFuq!?Boom!'s first copyright controversy. Last September, they issued multiple copyright strikes against GameToons, a similar YouTuber, eventually reaching an undisclosed settlement.
Conclusion:
The legitimacy of the DMCA notice remains uncertain. The situation underscores the complexities of copyright in the age of user-generated content and viral memes, especially when the meme's creation relies on pre-existing assets. The conflicting claims and denials highlight the ongoing debate surrounding intellectual property rights in the digital landscape.
