"Skibidi Toilet Takedowns: Garry's Mod Faces Copyright Concerns"

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 Skibidi Toilet's film and TV adaptations. A Discord profile seemingly belonging to the Skibidi Toilet creator has since denied sending the notice, as reported by Dexerto.

The DMCA Claim

The notice alleges the absence of any licensed Skibidi Toilet content for Garry's Mod and demands the removal of user-created games featuring the characters. The claim highlights the irony, given that the Skibidi Toilet series itself utilizes assets from Garry's Mod, originally ported by Alexey Gerasimov's YouTube channel, "DaFuq!?Boom!", using Valve's Source Filmmaker. This series propelled Skibidi Toilet to meme status, generating significant merchandise and franchise opportunities.

Counterarguments and Irony

Newman publicly questioned the legitimacy of the claim on the s&box Discord server, highlighting the absurdity of a DMCA from Skibidi Toilet, considering its origins. Invisible Narratives' notice asserts copyright ownership over characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet, citing DaFuq!?Boom! as the source. However, the situation is complicated by Garry's Mod's own use of Half-Life 2 assets, a fact seemingly overlooked. Valve, the owner of Half-Life 2, granted Newman permission to create and distribute Garry's Mod. This suggests that Valve, as the original copyright holder, holds a stronger claim than Invisible Narratives.

Following the public disclosure, DaFuq!?Boom! denied involvement in sending the DMCA notice via the s&box Discord. The notice itself is attributed to an unknown source acting "on behalf of copyright holder: Invisible Narratives, LLC," citing copyright registration in 2023 for the aforementioned characters.

Previous Copyright Disputes

This isn't the first copyright controversy for DaFuq!?Boom!. Last September, they issued multiple copyright strikes against GameToons, a similar YouTube channel, eventually reaching a settlement. The details of the settlement remain undisclosed.

The situation surrounding the DMCA notice to Garry's Mod remains unresolved, highlighting the complexities of copyright in the digital age, especially concerning derivative works and meme culture. The legitimacy of the claim and the true sender's identity remain uncertain.