A24 reverses Backrooms copyright strikes after fan outcry

Backrooms fans didn't respond kindly to a series of copyright strikes against indie artists

After backlash and numerous angry social media posts, A24 is backing down over copyright claims related to the Backrooms. Two days ago, a Reddit user posted that their artwork had been taken down from the print-on-demand marketplace Redbubble. The design was based on the famous liminal hallway photo that first inspired the Backrooms creepypasta craze when it was posted online in 2019. The artist said their work was removed following a complaint to Redbubble submitted on behalf of A24 Films LLC.

Afterward, Davilkus Games posted that its indie game, Backrooms: Level 94, had been hit with copyright claims on the Google Play Store due to violating Google’s “impersonation policy. They said that at least “3 other small indie devs” had something similar happen to them.

Before long, the director of the A24 film Backrooms, Kane Parsons, commented on the original Reddit post that “I’m looking into this. Should not be happening.” In an interview with Smosh Alike, Parsons had previously described the Backrooms concept as an “open-source, public domain idea” and said that there hadn’t been “any interest in going after people” because “that just seems like a bad idea; we don’t want to make people angry at us for no good reason.”

Users on X and Reddit did not respond kindly to the news. “Ladies and gentlemen, meet this fuckass studio A24, a Backrooms fan account posted. “- first, they were copyright striking BACKROOMS themed items and wallpaper designs - and now, they are copyright striking Indie Backrooms Games. I SWEAR, A24 thinks they OWN Backrooms. A24 doesn’t deserve Kane Parsons, tbh.”

Then last night, Parsons posted to a private Discord channel that A24 told him the takedowns were “an outsourced system error in pursuit of removing camrips.” He said that he is “heavily presuming them” and that he’s “demanding reform and answers.” Lastly, he added, “they’re working rapidly to resolve it. Will probably issue a statement.”

Shortly after, A24’s official Backrooms Instagram account posted that the original delisting on Redbubble was an automated claim that they’re working to reverse. “A24 makes no claim of ownership over the yellow wallpaper, the original post referencing it, or any of the community works that have since been built around it. We will continue to support the artists who, like Kane, were inspired by it.”

As for the Google Play Store issues, Davilkus Games later clarified that its problems were allegedly “an automated error on Google’s side, not a copyright claim from A24, Kane Parsons or any affiliated parties.”

It’s worth noting that following Backrooms’ massive success — the film has grossed over $374 million on a roughly $10 million production budget — A24 is currently in negotiations to lock down Parsons for future projects. However, several other studios, like Warner Bros. and Universal, are also trying to sign a deal with the director. Basically, it’s likely that A24 does not want to piss Parsons off at the moment.

The Backrooms copyright hullabaloo comes at a particularly turbulent time for A24, after the film studio took heat for a recent $75 million deal with Google’s AI subsidiary DeepMind. It’s ironic, considering the recent hit film can be read as a critique of generative AI, with Parson describing the technology as “genuinely harmful to creativity” and saying that it leads to “cultural and economic rot.”