Merge pull request #17985 from github/updates

Added 2025/06/2025-06-25-recap-counternotice.md

Author: dmca-sync-bot

2025/06/2025-06-25-recap-counternotice.md

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+**Are you the owner of the content that has been disabled, or authorized to act on the owner’s behalf?**
+
+Yes, I am the content owner.
+
+**Please describe the nature of your content ownership or authorization to act on the owner's behalf.**
+
+I am the [private] and copyright holder of the application 'Recap AI' and the original, foundational codebase for the project located at https://github.com/Visual-Studio-Coder/Recap. This is the official development repository for [private] app published on the Apple App Store, where [private] the listed [private]. [private] [private] [private] the original codebase, design, and core functionality.
+
+**What files were taken down? Please provide URLs for each file, or if the entire repository, the repository’s URL.**
+
+The following repository is the subject of the DMCA takedown notice:
+
+https://github.com/Visual-Studio-Coder/Recap
+
+(Note: As of submitting this counter-notice, the repository has not yet been disabled by GitHub, but the takedown notice indicated an intent to disable it.)
+
+**Do you want to make changes to your repository or do you want to dispute the notice?**
+
+Dispute the notice.
+
+**Is there anything else you think we should know about why you believe the material was removed as a result of a mistake?**
+
+I assert this DMCA takedown notice from [private] ("Claimant") is based on a significant mistake, gross misidentification of copyright ownership, and is being pursued in bad faith for the following reasons:
+
+1. **I am the Undisputed [private] and Copyright Owner of "Recap AI"; Claimant's Contributions Were Minimal and Derivative:**  
+* **Prior Independent Creation (`[private]`):** The foundational codebase, core functionality, and UI of "Recap AI" were solely developed by [private] in [private] [private] [private] [private], `[private]`. This project was initiated on **May 18, 2024**, and contained substantial, working "Recap AI" features (including Swift code, Gemini integration, quiz logic, UI) by **May 22, 2024**. This timeline is verifiable and predates *any* substantive involvement from the Claimant.  
+* **Claimant's Awareness of My Prior Work:** As evidenced by an [private] on **May 19, 2024 (pre-hackathon)**, after I shared my `[private]` repository link with him, the Claimant acknowledged my prior creation by asking: **[private]**  
+* **Claimant's "Initial Commit" to `[private]` was a Blank Slate:** His first commit to `[private]` (May 25, 2024) was merely an **empty Xcode project template**. Subsequent commits by him show adaptation and integration of *my pre-existing code* from `[private].  
+* **Analysis of Claimant's Contributions:** A detailed analysis of the commit history for `[private]` reveals that the Claimant's approximately 30-40 commits primarily consisted of: administrative changes (README/LICENSE updates, renames), minor UI tweaks, minor bug fixes, or adaptations of my existing data structures and Gemini API patterns from `[private]`. **He added very few, if any, significant, original, and lasting functional features that define the core "Recap AI" application.** Much of what he did contribute was later refactored, fixed, or superseded by my subsequent development.  
+* **Public Recognition:** [private] [private] [private] of "Recap AI" was publicly recognized by **[private]** during the Congressional App Challenge (video evidence available).  
+* **Claimant's Own Admission of Minimal Contribution:** Crucially, the Claimant stated to me via [private] regarding his involvement in the hackathon project: **[private]** These collective admissions and the technical evidence directly contradict his current ownership claims. (I am prepared to verify all [private]).
+
+2. **Apache License 2.0 Governed Collaborative Phase – Claimant's Unilateral Actions Do Not Grant Him Ownership:**  
+* The `[private]` repository, during its brief collaborative phase which primarily utilized *my prior `[private]` work*, operated under the Apache License 2.0.
+* The Claimant,[private], may have been the one to physically commit the standard Apache 2.0 `LICENSE` text file into that repository. However, this administrative act does not grant him copyright ownership over my pre-existing intellectual property. While I may have intended to open-source my work, **his specific action of committing this license file to the repository containing my foundational code was done unilaterally, without prior consultation or specific permission from me.** If his argument is that this act makes him a primary copyright holder, that assertion is baseless.  
+* Regardless of who pushed the license file, the Apache 2.0 license permits derivative works. [private] current repository (`Visual-Studio-Coder/Recap`) is such a work.
+* Crucially, Section 4(c) of Apache 2.0 requires retention of formal "copyright... and attribution notices" *from the source files*. **The Claimant embedded NO such formal notices in any code he touched.**
+
+3. **History Modification Was a Necessary Act of Disassociation, Not Infringement:**  
+* The Claimant unilaterally and improperly **revoked my access** from `[private]`.  
+* This necessitated [private] cloning the work to `Visual-Studio-Coder/Recap` to continue independent development. My subsequent Git history modification was a deliberate act of disassociation.
+
+4. **Claimant's Misuse of DMCA Process & Pattern of Bad Faith:**  
+* This DMCA notice appears to be a retaliatory, bad-faith action. This is consistent with his pattern of harassment (false App Store reviews removed by Apple) and prior false accusations (e.g., his February 28, 2025, email with baseless doxxing/harassment allegations).  
+* His decision to grant me only 'admin' and not 'owner' status in the `[private]` organization further suggests his intentions were never aligned with a truly equal collaboration.
+
+5. **No Infringement & Resolution of Specific Commit Concerns:**  
+* [private] repository `Visual-Studio-Coder/Recap` is legitimate.  
+* GitHub Support, at my request, ran garbage collection and invalidated the git cache on [private] repository (May 23, 2025), ensuring unreferenced historical objects from the `[private]` era (like the specific commit `[private]` he referenced to Apple) are no longer accessible under [private] repository's namespace via their original hash.
+
+I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
+
+**I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.**
+
+**I consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which my address is located (if in the United States, otherwise the Northern District of California where GitHub is located), and I will accept service of process from the person who provided the DMCA notification or an agent of such person.**
+
+**Please confirm that you have you have read our <a href="https://docs.github.com/articles/guide-to-submitting-a-dmca-counter-notice">Guide to Submitting a DMCA Counter Notice</a>.**
+
+**So that the complaining party can get back to you, please provide both your telephone number and physical address.**
+
+Phone Number: [private]  
+Address: [private]
+
+**Please type your full legal name below to sign this request.**
+
+[private]