Skibidi Toilet DMCAs Garry's Mod But Legitimacy Remains Unclear

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 notice, from an initially unidentified source, claimed a lack of licensing for Skibidi Toilet assets within the game.

Initial reports incorrectly attributed the notice to Invisible Narratives, the studio behind the Skibidi Toilet movie and TV franchises. However, Alexey Gerasimov, the creator of the DaFuq!?Boom! YouTube channel (the source of the original Skibidi Toilet assets), has since denied sending the DMCA, as reported by Dexerto.

The irony is palpable: Skibidi Toilet's viral fame originated from assets created using Garry's Mod, a game itself built upon Valve's Half-Life 2 assets. While Valve licensed Garry's Mod as a standalone title, the DMCA notice asserts copyright ownership over characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet by Invisible Narratives, LLC, registered in 2023. This raises questions about the legitimacy of the claim, given the original source material.

Newman publicly shared the DMCA on the s&box Discord server, highlighting the unusual nature of the claim. Invisible Narratives' notice points to DaFuq!?Boom! as the origin of the disputed characters.

The situation is further complicated by DaFuq!?Boom!'s denial of involvement and past controversies. Last September, DaFuq!?Boom! issued multiple copyright strikes against GameToons, a similar YouTube channel, eventually reaching an undisclosed settlement.

The current situation leaves the source of the DMCA unclear. While the notice cites Invisible Narratives as the copyright holder, DaFuq!?Boom!'s denial introduces significant doubt. The legality of the claim remains uncertain, particularly considering the original creation of Skibidi Toilet assets within Garry's Mod itself. The incident underscores the complexities of copyright in the rapidly evolving world of online content creation and meme culture.