Couldn’t people just easily replace the new OOF sound with the old one via simple scripting?
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Yes, if it’s an easy thing to recreate. Especially counting Roblox has already stated they wanted to replace the sounds in favor of UGC, someone could just recreate it or readd it.
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I feel like this could’ve been avoided had they bought the OOF sound in the first place, pretty sure Tommy offered to sell it to them, but ROBLOX refused…
Therefore, they’re now in this circle of many situations, that will hopefully be resolved soon.
I don’t want ROBLOX to get sued, but this could of been avoided as well. 
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Alright, ROBLOX.
I’ve seen you guys do silly things, but this time you guys really came through for the developer and twitter community.
I think that this is really gonna bring more trust to ROBLOX’s Staff from the ROBLOX Community as a whole. This is really nice to see you guys made a decision that actually would help the community instead of inciting more drama.
I really do enjoy hearing these sort of news, keep it up guys!
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The above make good points. Why have people been saying that Tommy Tallarico was credited in the metadata? I just checked for myself using foobar2000 and some Roblox sound files from 2007 and then 2010, and I made some findings regarding not only the oof sound but also other third-party sounds used by Roblox. Let’s go down the rabbit hole, beginning with my first test.
The Date and <ENGINEER> are from the uuhhh file (uuhhh.wav in 2007, uuhhh.mp3 in 2020). Kerplunk has no metadata. So far I find that Roblox has used BrickFilms sounds for the “minifig footsteps”, likely their “BrickFilms Footstep Sounds Package.” Jeffthedrummer is credited as the artist for the footsteps.
Now, with every single sound in content\sounds selected:
The mentioned tracks in the Track Title Value row that are not minifig footsteps are part of A1 Free Sound Effects. I found some links regarding this sound effect pack by simply searching
"A1 Free Sound Effects" (with the quotes) on Google.
Is A1 Free Sound Effects the supposed CD-ROM that they found, mentioned in the OP? We can’t be sure, but probably not; uuhhh.wav/mp3 doesn’t mention A1 in its metadata. Were the sounds from BrickFilms and A1 used legally in Roblox? I’d sure hope so.
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That’s not how copyright works. Filing for it after an issue has arisen will get him absolutely nowhere.
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I would like to mention that I found this Twitter thread with some interesting speculation regarding this situation, I would suggest reading it:
Apparently, Tommy responded to it.
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There is excessive misinformation and rumors that must be dispelled immediately. Loads of substantiated information was provided multiple times to the point where it became repetitive. I replied to people spoon-feeding my previous quotes because their concern was thoroughly addressed in previous replies.
Anyone siding with Tommy that is aware of his ultimate objective is hardheaded and unfamiliar with the public impact he has produced. What he did was incompetent and unprofessional; especially for someone as popular as him. This counter-argument will use his own Tweets against him to clearly depict how incorrect he is.
Before Tweets are used against him, basic foundation should be developed. He acknowledged that conflict could not be resolved behind doors, so he played self-victimized publicly to maliciously brainwash others into supporting him. His objective was clear—for publicity, to degrade Roblox as a company, and to play self-victimized. Not only did he attempt to acquire credit or money, but he did so in a shameless, sporadic, and improper way.
At this point, it can be conclusively inferred that he is no longer interested in cooperating with Roblox about the sound effect (according to what I heard, he is considering to work with Roblox; regardless, he’s not going to dispute about the sound effect itself). This is a bold claim, but the reasoning behind it is logical. There is minimal evidence to support his case legally, so he’s having a bet at winning the hearts of individuals uneducated about the ultimate objective of the situation.
His social media posts prove that his decision-making is improvised and flawed. He exposed himself to a spontaneous sequence of events, and partial hate. Voluntarily suiciding his reputation to escalate controversy is incompetent for a popular content creator.
Genuine question (And don’t take this the wrong way, you’re owed your pound of flesh), if you/your lawyer are planning on taking legal action against Roblox, why are you posting about this on social media?
By eyeballing this Tweet, tons of problems are identified. If Tommy dislikes taking legal actions, bantering on media does not improve his chance of hoarding the copyright contents. “…in the hopes that they will just do the right thing.” As described by a sincere friend of mine, Google:
He believes Roblox is handling the situation unjustly, and decides to counter it with improper nonsense. His next point describes how “they [Roblox] try to tear down my reputation.” Roblox formally addressing themselves in a professional manner is consequential, and has no affiliation with Tommy’s reputation. As previously described, Tommy is sacrificing his reputation to escalate drama and nonsense. At this checkpoint, I would assume misinformation was distributed.
Tommy’s arguments are unsubstantiated primarily because he introduces multiple claims publicly whilst failing to publicly provide evidence. An influx of general questions were introduced after the previous Tweet:
Tommy was even accused of contemplating money and credit because he failed to successfully resolve problems behind doors:
The situation is difficult to take seriously because nothing has been achieved legally. Hopefully this will drastically dispel misinformation and rumors.
On a personal note, I request everyone to educate themselves by reading the previous posts before leaping to a conclusion. We can reduce unnecessary chatter by thoroughly educating ourselves before leaping to conclusions. This counter-argument was not meant to incite any drama, but to educate individuals inquiring about the situation.
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I’ve never said that, I’m just commenting that it is being registred.
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I know. I’m just saying that it won’t really do much as it was filed post-incident.
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So Tommy Tallarico (the creator of the ‘oof’ sound) recently (like around 2017) found out Roblox was using an asset that he made for a game in 1999 called Massiah. He says that he never sold the license for Roblox to use it and now wants compensation for them taking his asset illegally.
However: Roblox says that they bought the license from a third party copyright free. This means that they are allowed to use it.
The case is Roblox vs. Tallarico - and essentially they have a disagreement over who owns the rights to the audio.
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Thank you so much for the clarification.
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Yes, you can also modify the Roblox files on your computer to get the oof sound back for all games if it is ever removed.
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Actually, having strict ownership of an item, and “fiercely” protecting the rights to profit off of what you own, is the definition of capitalism.
With that said, I’m not against capitalism, and I fully support people who want to reap the benefits off of their own work. But the point of my post was that Tommy did not own the sole rights to the sound, and he was only interested in making a claim once he noticed how famous it became. He used the situation to try to gain quick fame and possibly money, thus throwing it all around social media.
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Unless that emotion is greed, apparently.
I can guarantee that Tommy would have 0 interest in making a claim for reimbursement for a sound he created without registering a proper copyright for it if he didn’t think this would get him victimized. Roblox bought it from a CD site, therefor, Tommy should have put his claims against them. But since the sound is famous on Roblox, he decided to make a public, emotionally ridden, social media post directed at Roblox to reap pity.
If emotion has nothing to do with law, Tommy should have nothing to do with this situation.
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And how would he have known that without bringing a complaint to Roblox? Have Roblox told him who exactly they acquired the sound from? Roblox aren’t obliged to, and probably wouldn’t tell him who (assuming, all these years later, that they even know), outside of discovery - which is part of the process of a lawsuit. And until that information is divulged, the only party he has to go after is Roblox.
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Here’s the catch:
Roblox has been made aware that this sound was created by Tommy. As they are now knowingly using his sound, they are liable for infringing his copyright on the sound.
It’s been established by both parties that the sound was created by Tommy. What Roblox is attempting to dispute is that Tommy doesn’t have a copyright for it, which isn’t true.
Copyright should be familiar to us Roblox developers, especially to those involved in commissions. For example, if I were to make a GFX, and someone began using it without my permission, that doesn’t mean they get to continue using it. I have the right to take it out via a DMCA takedown, regardless of how they obtained it.
The US Copyright Office states on its website that once the work is created, it has a copyright on it. Therefore, the creator has the right to allow who uses it. Tommy’s stated that he currently has a filing for the sound in the process of being registered, which can be assumed for purposes to begin a legal proceeding.
Additionally, when it comes to civil cases, the plaintiff would generally attempt to sue any involved. If Roblox has provided Tommy with evidence of their CD story, Tommy should also go after them, too, but Roblox isn’t cleared.
As much as we enjoy Roblox as the platform we’re on, we can’t blindly support and harass those who bring up credible complaints and issues with the company. The simplest thing, based on what I’ve seen from Roblox and Tommy’s responses, is just for Roblox to pay the dude. It’s his sound, and they haven’t paid him a penny for it, and there’s no doubt this sound has helped Roblox in some way with popularity. The “oof” sound is known as a meme, which very likely increased Roblox’s player-base in some way.
And as much as people point to Tommy’s “emotional reactions” to this topic, that doesn’t discredit anything. If a store owner keeps ranting and complaining about how his store was robbed, that doesn’t mean the robbers should be let off. Tommy has as much right as Roblox does to make their statements on this topic.
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It’s nice to see Roblox speaking regards about this “discussion” but now that legal and standing proof has been presented, I’m pretty sure Tommy has the rights to the sound. (as he presented an entire document and metadata about it).
Now, the part where Tommy would be invited to Roblox, that would be interesting, a proffesional sound designer developing in games such as Jailbreak, Meepcity, Mad City, Adopt Me, etc, would be interesting.
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Well, there’s a statement about U.S Copyright Office about this.
“When is my work protected?”
“Your work is under copyright protection, the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.”
So basically, the moment the sound was created and processed, the sound is legally protected.
Plus, he has JUST noticed this sound on Roblox, he has never played the game before and he has just noticed about this, both him and Roblox adknowledge that Roblox is using Tommy’s sound, therefore, he can send Roblox a lawsuit.
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