dmca/2014/2014-10-28-Veracity-Media.md

Hi, I'm [private], Managing Partner at Veracity Media, LLC.

On 9/29, we requested a DMCA takedown of a repository ( https://github.com/github/dmca/blob/master/2014-10-02-Veracity-Media.md), and that takedown was granted on 10/2. There hasn't been a counterclaim. It's come to our attention that the same organization, and member of the organization, has again made public on GitHub intellectual property that is both owned by Veracity Media, and that neither the organization (Rainforest Action Network https://github.com/RainforestActionNetwork nor the user https://github.com/msamricth) has the right to make public.

There are two repositories in question, this one https://github.com/RainforestActionNetwork/RAN-2.0-v3.9.10022014-beta and this one https://github.com/msamricth/RAN-2.0-v2.9.10022014-beta. We're demanding that these repositories be immediately removed from GitHub as soon as possible. In addition, since this is a repeat offense that shows willful and continual violation of our copyright, we're asking that both the user and organization be suspended so they cannot continue to make our copyrighted information public. The repository has also been slightly modified in an attempt to obfuscate the fact that this is our code, but even a cursory inspection shows that this is the same code as was previously taken down.

Below is the relevant section from our agreement, and attached is a demand letter sent to RAN on 9/23/14 from our attorney, also copied on this email.

2.2 All copyright and other rights in and to any computer program, application, documentation, written instructions or advice created by Veracity Media, and any other written work, graphic or pictorial work, audio or audiovisual work, created by Veracity Media (“Veracity Intellectual Property”), shall belong to and remain the exclusive property of Veracity Media. Veracity Media hereby grants to Client a non-exclusive license to utilize the Veracity Intellectual Property in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, for the purposes of operating and maintaining the Client Website and for operating any other programs, applications and/or solutions furnished by Veracity Media hereunder, and for no other purpose whatsoever.

Client agrees that that it shall not attempt to disassemble, reverse engineer, modify or create derivative works from the Veracity Intellectual Property. Client shall not have the right, under the license granted under this Agreement, to license, sublicense, transfer, convey or otherwise make available to any person or entity any work or part thereof constituting or included within the Veracity Intellectual Property except to the extent necessary to operate the Client Website and to operate the object code of any program, application or solution in accordance with the documentation and instructions provided.

Please respond to this request at your earliest convenience, and let me know if you have any other requirements or steps we need to take to have this repository taken down.

1. The repositories mentioned below violate our contractual agreement and copyright It's code which RAN is licensed to use exclusively for their website, and they have both made it public. Every single file in the repository is not our original work product, as they've added their own modifications, but the entire repository is a reverse-engineered website theme, which violates our copyright.

Both repositories, in their entirety, infringe on our copyright, because of the following line in our contract: Client agrees that that it shall not attempt to disassemble, reverse engineer, modify or create derivative works from the Veracity Intellectual Property.

2. Link to repositories:

https://github.com/RainforestActionNetwork/RAN-2.0-v3.9.10022014-beta and

https://github.com/msamricth/RAN-2.0-v2.9.10022014-beta

3. You may contact me using the info below:

[private] Managing Partner, Veracity Media

[private]

4. Contact info of Repository owner (organization):

[private], Executive Director

[private]

5. I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above on the infringing web pages is not authorized by the copyright owner, or its agent, or the law.

6. I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner, or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

7. Signed, -[private] Managing Partner, Veracity Media.