After getting bent over by Nintendo for Steam Workshop submissions, Garry Newman, the creator of the “Rust” survival game and the “Garry’s Mod” sandbox game, has amusingly announced that his game has been hit with another DMCA takedown request over Skibidi Toilet.
“Invisible Narratives” and the creator of the viral sensation “Dafuq Boom” filed a DMCA against Garry’s Mod for the unauthorized use of Skibidi Toilet characters, as announced by Garry on his Discord server.
“Skibidi Toilet” is a meme series that gained popularity on TikTok and YouTube. It features a toilet with a human head performing a catchy, repetitive tune, often accompanied by the song “Dom Dom Yes Yes” by Biser King.
The meme is known for its absurd and bizarre scenarios, where the toilet head sings and dances in various settings. Over time, its lore has expanded significantly, depicting a global conflict between the Skibidi Toilet entities and the Cameramen, who are the series’ protagonists with CCTV cameras for heads.
The narrative also includes other characters like Speakermen, who join the fight against the Skibidi Toilet invasion,
The DMCA takedown request appears to be an overreach from a creator high off their own supply. The Skibidi Toilet series itself is built using readymade assets from Valve’s Half-Life 2 and Garry’s Mod.
The takedown notice claims that the Titan Cameraman, Titan Speakerman, Titan TV Man, and Skibidi Toilet characters are protected by copyright and that their unauthorized use has resulted in “significant revenue.”
It argues that these assets were being used to promote Garry’s Mod and asserts that there is no licensed content from Steam, Valve, or Garry’s Mod related to Skibidi Toilet.
For example, one of the most recognizable representations of Skibidi Toilet prominently features the “male_07” model from Half-Life 2. This model has been extensively repurposed in various games, including Counter-Strike Source, The Stanley Parable, and Garry’s Mod.
The assets in question are entirely owned by Valve Corporation. If the creator behind Skibidi Toilet were to pursue legal action, they would likely lose, considering their extensive use of Valve assets and the probable use of Source Film Maker for animation.
It’s unclear whether the DMCA notice was issued maliciously by a third party posing as DaFuq!?Boom! and Invisible Narratives, similar to the speculation surrounding the Nintendo DMCA. There is a possibility that it was filed by someone with a grudge against those enjoying the content.
Regardless, it remains uncertain how this situation will develop and whether Garry Newman will take proactive measures by removing workshop submissions containing the disputed material, similar to his response to the Nintendo DMCA.
