A24 Lifts Copyright Strikes on Backrooms Following Fan Backlash

After facing significant backlash and a wave of frustrated social media reactions, A24 is stepping back from its copyright claims concerning the Backrooms. Just two days ago, a Reddit user revealed that their artwork inspired by the iconic liminal hallway image, which sparked the Backrooms creepypasta phenomenon in 2019, was removed from the print-on-demand platform Redbubble. This action followed a complaint made to Redbubble on behalf of A24 Films LLC.

In the wake of this, Davilkus Games announced that its indie title, Backrooms: Level 94, received copyright claims on the Google Play Store for allegedly breaching Google’s “impersonation policy.” They mentioned that at least three other small indie developers experienced similar issues.

Soon after, Kane Parsons, the director of the A24 film Backrooms, responded to the original Reddit post, stating, “I’m looking into this. Should not be happening.” In a previous interview, Parsons had characterized the Backrooms concept as an “open-source, public domain idea,” expressing that there was no intention to pursue legal action against creators, as it would only lead to unnecessary animosity.

The gaming community on platforms like X and Reddit reacted negatively to the news. One Backrooms fan account expressed frustration, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, meet this studio A24. 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.”

Later that night, Parsons shared in a private Discord channel that A24 informed him the takedowns were due to “an outsourced system error in pursuit of removing camrips.” He expressed his strong presumption of this being the case and stated he was “demanding reform and answers,” adding that they were working quickly to resolve the issue and would likely issue a statement.

Shortly after, A24’s official Backrooms Instagram account clarified that the original delisting on Redbubble was an automated claim they are 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.”

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

It’s important to note that following the massive success of Backrooms—having grossed over $374 million on a production budget of around $10 million—A24 is currently in talks to secure Parsons for future projects. However, other studios, including Warner Bros. and Universal, are also vying for a deal with the director, suggesting that A24 is keen to avoid upsetting Parsons at this time.

The copyright controversy surrounding Backrooms comes at a particularly challenging moment for A24, especially after the studio faced criticism for a recent $75 million deal with Google’s AI subsidiary DeepMind. This situation is particularly ironic, given that the hit film can be interpreted as a critique of generative AI, with Parsons describing the technology as “genuinely harmful to creativity” and stating that it leads to “cultural and economic rot.”

The Backrooms serves as a modern manifestation of the internet, transformed into a physical nightmare realm.