Gary Newman, Creator Gary’s Modshared a screenshot on one of his Discord servers on Sunday, claiming it was a takedown notice from the creator of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Skibidi toilets.
Skibidi toilets is a very popular YouTube mecha series produced by a man who calls himself DaFuq! Online with Alexy Gerasimov on government forms. This series uses valves half life The art assets incorporate strange nonsense poems and images that are popular among younger audiences. The series’ iconic image is a man’s head spinning in a toilet, grinning eerily.
These videos have tens of millions of views on YouTube alone. The brand is so popular that Michael Bay’s production company, Invisible Narratives, just announced that it’s developing a TV show and movie based on the series.
Gary’s Mod is a sandbox “game” created by Newman that allows users to create their own games, worlds and movies using Valve’s Source engine and thousands of user-generated art assets. Both Gary’s Mod and Skibidi toilets was created using the same original art assets. Both are products of the rich modding scene that makes Valve and half life 2 Popular for 20 years.
so fans Skibidi toilets and Gary’s Mod Bay is not happy with the news that Bay’s Invisible Narratives has sent Garry a DMCA takedown notice.
“You know what’s worse than a Nintendo DCMA,” Newman said on Discord, referring to the Japanese game maker’s takedown notice that destroyed Nintendo’s DCMA. Gary’s Mod community earlier this year. “The Skibidi restroom guy also sent a DMCA.”
He then posted a screenshot of the takedown notification.
“Unauthorized activity is generating significant revenue Skibidi Toilet Garry’s Mod Games with ads everywhere,” the screenshot reads. “Absolutely no licensed Steam, Valve, Gary’s Mod related information Skibidi toilets”.
Screenshot listing the Steam page Gary’s mod, namechecked DaFuq! ? And list the copyright registration number as “VAu 1-509-921”. At least the registration number is real. The U.S. Copyright Office lists various Skibidi toilets Characters owned by Invisible Narratives.
“A DMCA notice is a very powerful tool,” Louis Tompros, a copyright attorney at the law firm WilmerHale, told Gizmodo. “The platform is very responsive to this and will take it down immediately because… if you’re trying to get something removed from the internet, the DMCA is by far the most powerful tool that allows you to do that quickly.”
But this is a double-edged sword, and anyone who submits a false notification will be severely punished.
“If someone does submit a false DMCA notice to take down Gary’s Modthe creator of Gary’s Mod Assuming they can find them, whoever it is, they’ll have a good claim,” Tomopoulos said.
It seems ridiculous that a YouTube series using 20-year-old art assets from a classic first-person shooter game would even be okay have Copyright Claim. But, according to Tompros, once the toilet is integrated with the bowl, half life head, and a new, transformative work is born. One with enforceable copyright.
“The simplest example I always find is a program like Microsoft Word,” he said. “There are all kinds of copyrights that protect the structure, layout, and how everything works in Microsoft Word. But once I type something in it, the copyrights for the words I create and the books I write using Microsoft Word belong to me.
On his Discord server, the creator Skibidi toilets Blame DMCA takedown notices on pornographic content.
“I’m here to make it clear that I have never attempted to Gary’s Mod,” He said.
He praised Valve and Gary’s Mod Giving users the freedom to create worlds easily.
“But unfortunately, bad actors take advantage of this, and I do not support or encourage these people’s content,” he said. “Most of you don’t know this, but back in 2023 Skibidi toilets NSFW content appears in large numbers on YouTube. What you see now is just a small part of it. My team and I have been working hard to remove many outrageous NSFW YouTube videos and channels that use Skibidi characters in vulgar ways.
Newman, Gerasimov, and Invisible Narratives did not respond to Gizmodo’s requests for comment, so it’s hard to know exactly what happened.
Tompros told Gizmodo that he has seen fake DMCA takedown notices before.
“This should be hard,” he said. “The thing is, for very large platforms, like the YouTubes of the world, they get so many DMCA requests that they really have to engage in automating some of their processes. As long as the processes are automated, there’s room for gaming.
Knee-jerk reaction to Skibidi’s batting thoughts Gary’s Mod DMCA takedowns are heartfelt and intense. This makes sense, as these are beloved pieces of art that have survived and thrived only because the original rights holders, Valve, believed that allowing the internet to play and create with their characters was good for everyone . The DMCA goes against the pioneering spirit that both parties share.
