Inspired by Lumen (formerly Chilling Effects) and Google, this repo contains the text of DMCA takedown notices and counter-notices we've received here at GitHub. We publish them as they are received, with only personally identifiable information redacted.

In short, we believe that transparency on a specific and ongoing level is essential to good governance. Chilling Effects/Lumen explained it well in 2014 (archive.org mirror; not present on their current site): "We are excited about the new opportunities the Internet offers individuals to express their views . . . but concerned that not everyone feels the same way. Study to date suggests that cease and desist letters often silence Internet users, whether or not their claims have legal merit." (About, ChillingEffects.org, Sept. 2014, licensed under CC-BY-3.0). Similarly, we post takedown notices here to document their potential to "chill" speech.

It only means that we received the notice on the indicated date. It does not mean that the content was unlawful or wrong. It does not mean that the user identified in the notice has done anything wrong. We don't make or imply any judgment about the merit of the claims they make. We post these notices and requests only for informational purposes.

For more details, see our DMCA policy.

If you are looking to file or dispute a takedown notice by posting to this repository, please STOP 🛑 because we do not accept Pull Requests or other contributions to this repository.

Read on to learn about the available paths forward.

If you would just like to comment on a commit to discuss it, that's fine, but again please note that GitHub does not actively monitor comments or other contributions to this repository. So if you want send a comment to GitHub for any reason about this repository, please contact us directly.

Please note that re-posting the exact same content that was the subject of a takedown notice without following the proper process (outlined below) is a violation of GitHub’s DMCA Policy and Terms of Service. If you commit or post content to this repository that violates our Terms of Service, we will delete that content and may suspend access to your account as well.

If you are a copyright owner wishing to submit a takedown notice, read our DMCA Policy and Guide to Submitting a DMCA Takedown Notice. You can submit the actual notice using our special Copyright Claims Contact Form.

If you are the owner of a repository that has been taken down, you have two main options:

• Do you want to make changes to the repository that would remove the allegedly infringing content? If that is possible in your case, contact us to let us know that you would like to make the changes.

• Do you want to formally dispute the action by submitting a counter notice? Maybe the person sending the takedown notice does not hold the copyright or did not realize that you have a license or made some other mistake in their takedown notice. If you believe your content on GitHub was mistakenly disabled by a DMCA takedown request, you have the right to contest the takedown by submitting a counter notice. If you do, we will wait 10-14 days and then re-enable your content unless the copyright owner initiates a legal action before then.

If you do not want to make changes or dispute the notice, but still have general concerns about the copyright laws and how they apply in your case, know that GitHub and developers have the opportunity and a voice to advocate for changes in law and public policy to better support software development. We are constantly looking to advocate for developers, so feel free to reach out and let us know your concerns. We also encourage you to learn more about copyright and speak up by reaching out to the Copyright Office or your local lawmakers to voice your concerns.