Garry Newman, the 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 as-yet-unidentified source, claimed a lack of licensing for Skibidi Toilet content within the game, stating that "there is absolutely no licensed Steam, Valve, Garry’s Mod content related to Skibidi Toilet."
Initial reports incorrectly linked 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 viral Skibidi Toilet content), denied sending the notice via the s&box Discord server. This denial raises significant questions about the legitimacy of the DMCA claim.
The irony is palpable: the Skibidi Toilet series itself utilizes assets from Garry's Mod, a game built upon assets from Valve's Half-Life 2. While Garry's Mod uses Valve's assets, Valve has approved its release as a standalone title. This suggests Valve, as the original copyright holder of Half-Life 2, possesses a stronger legal standing than Invisible Narratives regarding the use of their assets in the Skibidi Toilet series.
Invisible Narratives' notice asserts copyright ownership of characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet, citing DaFuq!?Boom! as the original source. This claim is further complicated by the fact that DaFuq!?Boom! ported Garry's Mod assets into Source Filmmaker (also a Valve product) to create the original Skibidi Toilet content.
Newman's public disclosure on the s&box Discord server highlighted the unexpected nature of the DMCA, prompting speculation and Gerasimov's subsequent denial of involvement. Gerasimov's post expressed confusion and a desire to contact Newman directly.
The DMCA notice lists "Invisible Narratives, LLC" as the copyright holder, claiming copyright on the aforementioned characters in 2023 under "Titan Cameraman and 3 Other Unpublished Works." The authenticity of Gerasimov's denial remains unverified, but it's not his first brush with copyright disputes.
Last September, DaFuq!?Boom! issued multiple copyright strikes against GameToons, another YouTube channel producing similar content. While a settlement was reached, the initial actions raised concerns about potential misuse of copyright claims. The current situation surrounding the Garry's Mod DMCA adds another layer of complexity to this ongoing saga, leaving the legitimacy of the claim highly questionable.
