Skibidi Toilet DMCAs Garry's Mod But Legitimacy Remains Unclear

Garry’s Mod creator, Garry Newman, has reportedly received a DMCA notice from an entity claiming to represent the copyright holders of Skibidi Toilet. Dive into the intricacies of this dispute and its ironic twists.

Skibidi Toilet’s Takedown Notice

On July 30, Garry Newman, the mastermind behind Garry’s Mod, received an unexpected copyright claim from an unidentified source, demanding the removal of "unauthorized Skibidi Toilet Garry’s Mod games." The sender asserted that "there is absolutely no licensed Steam, Valve, Garry’s Mod content related to Skibidi Toilet."

Initial reports suggested that Invisible Narratives, the studio behind Skibidi Toilet's upcoming movie and TV projects, might be behind the notice. However, a Discord user purporting to be the creator of Skibidi Toilet denied any involvement, as reported by Dexerto.

Garry’s Mod, originally a mod for Valve's Half Life 2, empowers players to craft and engage in custom game modes. Meanwhile, Alexey Gerasimov's YouTube channel, DaFuq!?Boom!, leverages Garry’s Mod assets in Source Filmmaker to produce the wildly popular Skibidi Toilet series, which has become a sensation among Generation Alpha, spawning merchandise and media adaptations by Michael Bay and Adam Goodman’s Invisible Narratives.

Counters to Skibidi Toilet's DMCA Claim

Garry Newman shared his frustration about the DMCA claim on the s&box Discord server, stating, "You know what’s worse than the Nintendo DMCA? Skibidi Toilet guys sent a DMCA too… Can you believe the cheek?" He also shared a screenshot of the claim.

Invisible Narratives' notice claims ownership over characters like "Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet," crediting DaFuqBoom as the original source. The irony here is palpable, considering Skibidi Toilet was created using Garry’s Mod assets.

While Garry’s Mod itself uses assets from Half Life 2, Valve has fully endorsed Newman's project, releasing it as a standalone game in 2006. Valve, owning the rights to Half Life 2, holds a stronger legal position regarding the use of their assets in Garry’s Mod than Invisible Narratives does over Skibidi Toilet.

Following Newman's public disclosure of the DMCA strike, DaFuq!?Boom! quickly took to the s&box Discord to clarify their non-involvement, stating, "Is there a way to contact Garry? I did NOT strike Garry’s Mod and I’m trying to understand what else is written in the letter!"

The DMCA notice was reportedly sent by an unknown party "on behalf of copyright holder: Invisible Narratives, LLC," claiming rights over "Titan Cameraman and 3 Other Unpublished Works" copyrighted in 2023, which includes Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet.

Although DaFuq!?Boom!'s denial remains unverified, this isn't their first brush with copyright controversy.

Skibidi Toilet Copyright Strikes Other YouTubers

Last September, DaFuq!?Boom! intensified their copyright enforcement by targeting fellow YouTubers, including GameToons, who produce similar content. Despite GameToons' attempts at a peaceful resolution, DaFuq!?Boom! persisted, filing additional strikes that threatened GameToons' channel existence.

A week later, an agreement was reached between GameToons and DaFuq!?Boom!, with YouTube's assistance, though the specifics of the settlement remain undisclosed. The initial filing of the copyright claim stirred significant backlash within the community.