Skibidi DMCAs Garry's Mod, Legitimacy Uncertain

Garry Newman, the creator of Garry's Mod, received a DMCA takedown notice seemingly related to Skibidi Toilet content within the game. The situation is rife with irony and confusion, as we'll explore below.

A DMCA Targeting Garry's Mod

On July 30th, Newman reported receiving a copyright claim demanding the removal of unauthorized Skibidi Toilet Garry's Mod creations. The notice, from an as-yet-unidentified source, asserted a lack of any official Skibidi Toilet licensing for Steam, Valve, or Garry's Mod content.

Initial reports incorrectly attributed the notice to Invisible Narratives, the studio behind the Skibidi Toilet film and television projects. However, the creator of the DaFuq!?Boom! YouTube channel, Alexey Gerasimov (the source of many Skibidi Toilet assets), has publicly denied sending the DMCA, as reported by Dexerto.

The core of the issue lies in the genesis of Skibidi Toilet. Gerasimov uses Garry's Mod assets in Source Filmmaker to create his popular YouTube series, which has since spawned a significant meme culture, merchandise, and planned film/TV adaptations.

Challenging the DMCA

Newman initially shared the DMCA on the s&box Discord server, highlighting the absurdity of the situation. Invisible Narratives' notice claimed copyright ownership over characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet, citing DaFuq!?Boom! as the origin.

This claim is particularly ironic, given Skibidi Toilet's origins within Garry's Mod. While Garry's Mod itself uses assets from Valve's Half-Life 2 (with Valve's permission), the situation highlights the complex web of copyright in user-generated content. Valve, as the owner of Half-Life 2, arguably has a stronger claim to the assets used in DaFuq!?Boom!'s videos than Invisible Narratives.

Following the public revelation, Gerasimov also denied involvement on the s&box Discord, expressing confusion and seeking contact with Newman. The DMCA notice, purportedly on behalf of Invisible Narratives, LLC, cites copyright registration in 2023 for "Titan Cameraman and 3 Other Unpublished Works."

While Gerasimov's denial remains unverified, it's not his first brush with copyright issues.

Previous Copyright Disputes

Last September, Gerasimov issued copyright strikes against other YouTube channels, including GameToons, eventually reaching a settlement after initially refusing amicable resolutions. The details of this settlement remain undisclosed.

The current situation surrounding the Garry's Mod DMCA remains unresolved, highlighting the difficulties of navigating copyright in the rapidly evolving landscape of online content creation and meme culture.