Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe

Background

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC brought a copyright-infringement action against an unidentified internet subscriber. The complaint identified the defendant by an internet protocol address because Strike 3 said it did not know the defendant’s name or address. Strike 3 alleged that the address had been used through the BitTorrent file-distribution network to infringe its copyrighted works.

Strike 3 asked for permission to file a motion seeking a third-party subpoena to Optimum Online before the parties’ required discovery conference. The requested subpoena was intended to obtain records that could identify the subscriber assigned the internet protocol address. Strike 3 also asked the court to postpone the initial pretrial conference and related deadlines until the defendant could be identified and served.

Ruling

The court granted Strike 3’s request for leave to file the motion seeking permission to serve the third-party subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1). The court did not grant the subpoena itself in this order. Strike 3’s motion was due January 21, 2025.

The court also postponed indefinitely the initial pretrial conference scheduled for April 17, 2025, as well as the related deadlines described in the court’s December 27 order.

What the Order Means

This was a discovery and scheduling order, not a decision on the copyright-infringement claim. The order allowed Strike 3 to ask for early discovery to identify the Doe defendant, but the opinion does not state whether the later subpoena motion was granted or whether the defendant was liable for infringement.