Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe

Document and request

The provided document is a letter from Jacqueline M. James of The James Law Firm, representing Strike 3 Holdings, LLC. The letter asks the court for permission to file a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1) seeking early discovery. Specifically, Strike 3 wants to serve a subpoena on Optimum Online, identified as the internet service provider, before the parties hold the Rule 26(f) conference normally required before discovery begins. The letter also asks the court to postpone any initial scheduling conference until the defendant is identified and served.

Parties’ positions and stated basis

Strike 3 says it owns copyrights to movies distributed through three subscription-based adult websites. It alleges that the John Doe defendant used the BitTorrent file-distribution network to infringe those copyrights. According to the letter, Strike 3 knows the defendant only by an internet protocol address, and the internet provider may have records connecting that address to a customer. Strike 3 says those records may be kept only for a short time.

The letter argues that courts may permit early discovery for good cause when a copyright plaintiff makes an initial showing of infringement, identifies a specific discovery request, lacks another way to obtain the information, needs the information centrally, and faces a defendant with only a limited expectation of privacy. Strike 3 says it will address those factors in the motion it seeks permission to file.

Court action and classification

The provided text does not contain an order or clearly state that Judge Kenneth M. Karas granted or denied the request. It therefore does not show a disposition of the request. The document is classified as other because it is a party filing rather than a ruling.