The creator of Garry's Mod, Garry Newman, reportedly received a DMCA takedown notice, allegedly from a source connected to Invisible Narratives, the studio behind the Skibidi Toilet franchise. The notice targeted unauthorized Skibidi Toilet content within Garry's Mod, claiming a lack of licensing. However, the legitimacy of the notice is currently in question. The purported sender, initially believed to be Invisible Narratives, has been disputed by a Discord profile seemingly associated with the Skibidi Toilet creator, who denied sending the notice, as reported by Dexerto.
The irony lies in the Skibidi Toilet series' origins: its assets were originally sourced from Garry's Mod. While Garry's Mod itself uses assets from Valve's Half-Life 2 (with Valve's permission), the DMCA claim asserts copyright ownership of characters like Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet by Invisible Narratives, registered in 2023. The YouTube channel DaFuq!?Boom!, known for its Skibidi Toilet content created using Garry's Mod assets and Source Filmmaker, is implicated, though its creator denies involvement in sending the DMCA.
The situation highlights the complexities of copyright in user-generated content. While Valve, as the owner of Half-Life 2 assets, might have a stronger claim against unauthorized use, the situation is muddied by the unclear origin of the DMCA notice and the questionable assertion of copyright over assets derived from a freely modifiable game. This isn't the first copyright controversy for DaFuq!?Boom!, who previously issued multiple strikes against GameToons, eventually resolving the dispute through an undisclosed agreement. The current situation surrounding the Garry's Mod DMCA remains unresolved, with the true source of the notice yet to be definitively identified.
