Anthropic DMCA Takedowns Accidentally Target Legitimate GitHub Forks
▼ Summary
– Anthropic’s DMCA takedown request to remove leaked Claude Code source code from GitHub led to the accidental removal of many legitimate forks of its official public repository.
– GitHub initially took down a network of 8,100 forked repositories, acting on an allegation that most were infringing like the parent repository containing the leak.
– The broad takedown affected coders who had forked Anthropic’s official public repository for bug reporting, not the leaked code, prompting public complaints.
– Anthropic later requested GitHub restrict the takedown to the 96 specifically named forks and reinstate the other repositories, calling the overreach a mistake.
– Despite the correction, Anthropic still faces significant challenges in containing the spread of its leaked source code.
A recent effort to enforce copyright on leaked source code for Anthropic’s Claude Code client resulted in a significant overreach, with thousands of legitimate software repositories being removed from GitHub. The company’s DMCA takedown request, aimed at containing a leak, inadvertently targeted developers who had forked its own official public code. This incident highlights the challenges of controlling proprietary information in the open-source ecosystem, even after the takedowns were reversed.
The initial notice submitted to GitHub late Tuesday specifically identified a primary repository containing the leaked Claude Code source code and nearly 100 named forks. However, GitHub’s enforcement action went far beyond that list. The platform’s appended note explained it had disabled a network of approximately 8,100 forked repositories. This drastic measure was based on the submitter’s allegation that most forks contained the same infringing material as the parent. Consequently, many projects that were simply legitimate forks of Anthropic’s public Claude Code repository were caught in the sweep.
Developers quickly expressed frustration on social media, finding their collaborative work suspended despite containing no leaked proprietary material. The situation underscored the blunt force of automated copyright enforcement tools. Coder Robert McLaws criticized the move, stating he would file a DMCA counter-notice in response to the mistaken takedown of his repository.
By Wednesday, Anthropic acknowledged the error and worked with GitHub to correct it. The company requested that the platform limit its actions to the 96 specifically listed fork URLs and reinstate all other repositories affected by the network-wide processing. Anthropic’s head of Claude Code, Boris Cherny, clarified on social media that the broad takedown was not intentional. Colleague Thariq Shihipar attributed the incident to a communication mistake in the process. While the immediate issue has been resolved, the event illustrates the extreme difficulty Anthropic faces in attempting to limit the distribution of its leaked code across a vast and interconnected developer platform.
(Source: Ars Technica)
