Skibidi DMCA Takedown of Garry's Mod Raises Legal Questions

Garry Newman, the creator of Garry's Mod, received a DMCA takedown notice targeting unauthorized Skibidi Toilet content within the game. The initial reports incorrectly attributed the notice to Invisible Narratives, the studio behind the Skibidi Toilet movie and TV franchises. However, the DMCA's origin remains uncertain, with the apparent Skibidi Toilet creator on Discord denying responsibility, as reported by Dexerto.

The Irony of the DMCA

This situation is rife with irony. The Skibidi Toilet series itself is built using assets from Garry's Mod, a game that allows users to create and share custom content. Alexey Gerasimov's YouTube channel, DaFuq!?Boom!, is the source of the Skibidi Toilet animations, repurposing Garry's Mod assets in Source Filmmaker. The meme's popularity led to merchandise and a planned film and TV series, yet the alleged DMCA claims ownership over characters created using assets from the very game it now targets.

The DMCA's Claims and Counterarguments

The notice claims copyright ownership of characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet. It points to DaFuq!?Boom! as the originator of these characters. However, Garry Newman, in a s&box Discord post, highlighted the absurdity of the situation, questioning how characters born from Garry's Mod could be subject to a DMCA. Invisible Narratives' claim is questionable given that Garry's Mod itself utilizes assets from Valve's Half-Life 2, a game Valve has allowed Newman to build upon. Valve, as the original copyright holder of Half-Life 2 assets, arguably holds a stronger claim against unauthorized use.

DaFuq!?Boom!'s Denial and Past Copyright Disputes

Following the public disclosure, DaFuq!?Boom! denied sending the DMCA and expressed confusion on the s&box Discord server. The notice was filed "on behalf of copyright holder: Invisible Narratives, LLC," claiming copyright for the mentioned characters, registered in 2023. This isn't DaFuq!?Boom!'s first encounter with copyright issues; last September, they issued multiple copyright strikes against GameToons, a similar YouTube channel, eventually reaching a settlement.

The Unclear Situation

The legitimacy of the DMCA remains questionable. While DaFuq!?Boom!'s denial hasn't been definitively confirmed, the entire situation highlights the complexities of copyright in the age of user-generated content and the rapid spread of internet memes. The origins of the Skibidi Toilet characters, built upon existing assets, cast significant doubt on the validity of the copyright claims.