Anthropic's attempt to remove leaked Claude Code client source code from GitHub resulted in the accidental takedown of numerous legitimate forks of its official public code repository. While the overzealous takedown has been reversed, the company faces a significant challenge in containing the spread of the leaked code. The initial DMCA notice targeted a repository hosting the leak and nearly 100 forks, but expanded to impact over 8,100 repositories, including those forking Anthropic's public code. Coders complained about being caught in the dragnet. Despite efforts, copies of the leaked code remain available on platforms like Codeberg, and "clean room" reimplementations are emerging, potentially complicating legal issues.
