Skibidi Toilet DMCAs Garry's Mod But Legitimacy Remains Unclear

Garry Newman, the creator of Garry's Mod, recently received a DMCA takedown notice targeting unauthorized Skibidi Toilet content within the game. The situation is shrouded in confusion, with initial reports incorrectly implicating Invisible Narratives, the studio behind the Skibidi Toilet movie and TV franchises. However, Alexey Gerasimov, the creator of the popular DaFuq!?Boom! YouTube channel, which uses Garry's Mod assets to create Skibidi Toilet content, has denied sending the notice.

The DMCA notice, from an as-yet-unidentified source acting on behalf of Invisible Narratives, claims copyright infringement over characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet. This is ironic, considering the Skibidi Toilet series itself originated using assets from Garry's Mod.

Garry Newman highlighted the absurdity of the situation, comparing it to other infamous DMCA incidents. He shared a screenshot of the notice on the s&box Discord server, expressing disbelief at the claim. The notice asserts that these characters are unique to Invisible Narratives' brand and points to DaFuq!?Boom! as the source of the infringing content.

The situation raises questions about the legitimacy of the DMCA. While Garry's Mod utilizes assets from Valve's Half-Life 2, Valve has authorized the game's release. This contrasts with the Skibidi Toilet situation, where the original source material (Garry's Mod assets) is being claimed as copyrighted by a third party. Valve, as the original copyright holder of Half-Life 2, arguably has a stronger claim against unauthorized use of their assets by DaFuq!?Boom! than Invisible Narratives.

Adding to the complexity, DaFuq!?Boom! publicly denied involvement in the DMCA notice, expressing confusion and seeking contact with Garry Newman to clarify the situation. This aligns with previous controversies surrounding DaFuq!?Boom! and copyright claims.

Last September, DaFuq!?Boom! issued copyright strikes against other YouTube channels, including GameToons, resulting in a tense standoff before a resolution was eventually reached. The details of that agreement remain undisclosed.

The current situation involving the Skibidi Toilet DMCA on Garry's Mod remains unresolved, highlighting the complexities and potential pitfalls of copyright claims in the digital age, particularly concerning derivative works and the use of pre-existing assets. The true origin of the DMCA notice remains uncertain, leaving many questions unanswered.