Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:24-cv-05658
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Abrams granted expedited discovery allowing a subpoena to identify the defendant in an alleged copyright case.
Strike 3 Holdings may seek John Doe’s name and address from Optimum Online, while John Doe may challenge the subpoena or seek to remain anonymous.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued John Doe, identified only by an Internet Protocol address, claiming that Doe downloaded and distributed its adult motion pictures without permission. Strike 3 asked to subpoena Doe’s internet provider, Optimum Online, for Doe’s name and address before the parties held their initial required meeting.
The court found that all five factors supported early discovery: Strike 3 had shown an initial copyright-infringement claim, requested only specific identifying information, lacked another way to obtain it, needed the information to serve Doe, and Doe had limited privacy expectations in sharing copyrighted material. The court also ordered protections because mistaken identification could cause embarrassment or harm.
Judge Ronnie Abrams granted the motion. Strike 3 may immediately serve a subpoena seeking Doe’s true name and current and permanent address, but not email addresses or telephone numbers. Optimum Online must notify Doe, who may challenge the subpoena or seek to remain anonymous; if no timely challenge is made, the provider may produce the information under the order’s procedures.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 1:24-cv-05658
- Ronnie Abrams
- Aug. 15, 2024
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against John Doe. The complaint identified Doe only through the Internet Protocol address 68.197.6.166. Strike 3 alleged that Doe used the BitTorrent file-sharing network to download and distribute Strike 3’s copyrighted motion pictures without authorization.
Before the parties’ required conference, Strike 3 filed an ex parte motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1) for expedited discovery. It sought permission to serve a third-party subpoena on Optimum Online, the internet service provider associated with the Internet Protocol address, to obtain Doe’s name and address.
Court’s analysis
The court applied a flexible reasonableness-and-good-cause standard and considered five factors for early discovery. First, it found that Strike 3 had made an initial showing of copyright infringement by alleging ownership of identified copyrighted works and unauthorized copying detected through Strike 3’s proprietary VXN Scan system.
Second, the request was sufficiently narrow because it sought only Doe’s name and address. Third, the court found that Optimum Online was the only entity identified as able to connect the Internet Protocol address to the subscriber’s identity. Fourth, the information was necessary for Strike 3 to serve Doe and pursue the lawsuit. Fifth, although being identified in a lawsuit involving adult movies could cause embarrassment, the court found that internet-service-provider subscribers have limited privacy expectations in sharing copyrighted material.
Order
The court granted Strike 3’s motion. It authorized Strike 3 to immediately serve Optimum Online with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 seeking Doe’s true name and current and permanent address. The order did not permit Strike 3 to subpoena Doe’s email addresses or telephone numbers.
The court also issued protective procedures. Optimum Online must serve Doe with the subpoena, the opinion and order, and a notice within 60 days after receiving the subpoena. If that period expires without Doe or Optimum Online contesting the subpoena, Optimum Online has 10 days to provide the responsive identifying information. Doe may move to quash the subpoena or seek to proceed anonymously; if Doe files such a request, Optimum Online must not release the information until the court rules on it. Any information disclosed may be used only to protect Strike 3’s rights stated in its complaint.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.