As far as I can tell, a counter-claim can only be submitted after the allegedly infinging content has been removed. So it cannot be used to defend against a tak

As far as I can tell, a counter-claim can only be submitted after the allegedly infinging content has been removed. So it cannot be used to defend against a takedown notice. The content must be removed regardless of whether or not you have a valid counter-claim. Moreover, there's a 10-14 day waiting period before the ISP can allow the content to be put back online. It's a ridiculous process that allows anyone to take down any content for up to two weeks for any reason. Two weeks is an eternity in today's news cycles. https://www.dmca.com/faq/What-is-a-DMCA-Counterclaim https://www.dmca.com/faq/What-is-a-DMCA-Counterclaim