A24 has released a statement in response to an unexpected copyright drama that’s unfolded within the Backrooms community. As many of you will know, the Backrooms started out as a creepypasta that originated on 4Chan, and while the story behind it is fictitious, the original photo was later traced to a HobbyTown store prior to its renovation and found by building owner Bob Mazza. Even then, Mazza isn’t the owner of the yellow wallpaper that’s become synonymous with the Backrooms, and that’s before we get to Kane Parsons, who took the creepypasta concept and created his own sci-fi narrative. In short, there’s no single owner of the wallpaper itself or the Backrooms ecosystem that continues to evolve online. And this is why the community was left so confused this week when Reddit users claimed A24 had ordered takedowns of their Backrooms inspired artwork from Redbubble. Creators, beware: A24 requested that my backrooms-inspired artwork be taken down byu/GnarlyNet inbackrooms Redditor GnarlyNet said on July 15th, “Creators, beware: A24 requested that my Backrooms-inspired artwork be taken down. It is a recreation of the pattern from the well-known 2019 image who started the whole Backrooms lore. “I find it disappointing to see a company attempt to claim such a broad connection to a concept that has been developed, shared, and loved by an online community for years. “I would have hoped that A24 would celebrate that creative history rather than take action against independent artists who were, just like them, inspired by it.” They went on to say that while they respect the rights attached to any specific film adaptation, they shouldn’t be treated as the “ownership of the entire Backrooms concept”, including its lore and visual language. “I am sharing this because I think it raises an important question about what happens when large companies adapt community-created internet culture,” they finished. What’s Going on with the Backrooms? byu/daisyblue45 inbackrooms GnarlyNet then posted an update clarifying that Redbubble had informed them that the artwork was removed following a complaint submitted on behalf of A24 Films, and that they didn’t get a direct message from the studio. “I cannot independently confirm who submitted the complaint beyond the information provided by Redbubble,” they added, explaining that they disputed the removal and were unsure whether the complaint was intentional or not. It appears this wasn’t a standalone incident, as Reddit user daisyblue45 shared a similar post claiming they received an email from Redbubble saying they had taken down two of their Backrooms inspired images. “Those images are not in any way related to the Backrooms movie. In fact, they’re related to literature I wrote that is LOOSELY based on the Backrooms concept. Also the word ‘backrooms’ itself is not copyrighted,” they wrote. “You cannot copyright individual words, titles, or general concepts and the core concept and aesthetic of the Backrooms (endless, empty, yellow-wallpapered rooms) are largely considered public domain and cannot be copyrighted.” Credit: A24 Kane Parsons has always made it very clear that he doesn’t take any form of ownership from the Backrooms concept. In fact, as the filmmaker told Film Shrine ahead of the release of his movie, “The discourse around Backrooms is… an open source sort of project where there’s no true version.” Kane explained that he’s “pulling from that original copypasta with the image” and making a narrative that “is true to that” while also building on it with what he believes to be the “next logical step”. “That initial post was setting it down and I’m trying to take more of a hard sci-fi approach to it,” he said. As a major part of the Backrooms community, Kane himself responded to GnarlyNet’s post, saying, “I’m looking into this. Should not be happening.” We don’t know exactly what went down behind the scenes, but the Backrooms movie’s official Instagram account shared a statement earlier today saying that the Redbubble situation was a mistake and A24 does not claim ownership of the Backrooms community works. “As Kane Parsons has made clear, Backrooms is one part of an infinitely bigger ecosystem, rife with creatives who have every right to tell their own version of the story,” it reads. Credit: Instagram “Yesterday we were made aware of an automated claim submitted to Redbubble on behalf of A24 and Backrooms movie. We immediately began the process to reverse it and reinstate the listing. “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.” Kane and the studio have received plenty of praise for getting this sorted so quickly. “Thank GOD this got resolved within 24 hours,” wrote one on Reddit. “Even if this was a massive problem, A24 and Kane practically fixed a situation better than big companies.” For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured images credit: A24/Instagram/Reddit Post navigation Next story
