Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe
- James Oetken
- 1:25-cv-07397
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Oetken authorized discovery to identify the anonymous defendant while giving him 60 days to challenge the subpoena.
Strike 3 Holdings may seek John Doe’s identifying information from Verizon Fios. John Doe receives notice and 60 days to challenge or seek anonymity before any disclosure. Verizon Fios must preserve the information, follow the notice and disclosure restrictions, and produce the information if the order’s conditions are met.
What happened
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe, Strike 3 alleged that an unidentified person distributed its copyrighted movies through an internet connection assigned IP address 70.23.254.247. The movies contained pornographic material, and Strike 3 asked to obtain the subscriber’s name and address from Verizon Fios before the usual early-case conference.
The court allowed Strike 3 to issue a subpoena for John Doe’s name and current and permanent address. The court noted that the subscriber might not be the actual infringer because someone else could have used the internet connection, and that the subject matter created a risk of mistaken identification and coercive settlements.
Judge Oetken ordered Verizon Fios to notify John Doe and barred disclosure of identifying information for 60 days after notice. John Doe or Verizon Fios may challenge the subpoena or request anonymous litigation during that period; the court also required Verizon Fios to preserve the information and limited any disclosed information to protecting Strike 3’s rights in the lawsuit.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe · No. 1:25-cv-07397
- James Oetken
- Sept. 22, 2025
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC alleged that unidentified Defendant John Doe distributed Strike 3’s copyrighted movies in violation of the Copyright Act. The movies contained pornographic material. Strike 3 sought permission to obtain limited, immediate discovery from third-party Internet Service Provider Verizon Online LLC, also identified as Verizon Fios, to learn John Doe’s name and address.
Court’s analysis
The court found good cause to permit discovery before the parties’ required Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) conference because Strike 3 could not identify or serve John Doe without a subpoena. The court explained that, without a court-ordered subpoena, federal law effectively prevented Verizon Fios from disclosing the subscriber’s identity.
The court also recognized that the subscriber associated with an IP address might not be the person who infringed the copyright. Someone else with access to the connection, such as a child, neighbor, or houseguest, could have been the actual infringer. The court therefore found a real risk that an innocent subscriber could be falsely identified, required to defend against unsupported allegations, or pressured into an unjust settlement. It said that risk was greater because the alleged infringement involved pornographic movies. The court concluded that Strike 3’s proposed order did not provide adequate protections for John Doe.
Order
The court allowed Strike 3 to conduct immediate discovery from Verizon Fios through a subpoena under Rule 45 seeking John Doe’s name and current and permanent address. Strike 3 must attach the order to the subpoena and immediately serve the order on Verizon Fios. Verizon Fios must serve the order on John Doe by a reasonable method, including first-class mail or overnight service to his last known address.
John Doe has 60 days from service of the order to file a motion challenging the subpoena, including a motion to quash or modify it, or to request permission to litigate anonymously. Verizon Fios may not disclose John Doe’s identifying information before that 60-day period ends. If John Doe or Verizon Fios timely files a motion, Verizon Fios may not disclose the information until the court resolves the issues and orders disclosure to resume.
If no challenge is filed during the 60-day period, Verizon Fios has 10 days to provide the subpoenaed information to Strike 3. Verizon Fios must preserve the information while any timely motion to quash is pending, confer with Strike 3, and may not demand an advance charge for producing the information. Any information disclosed may be used only to protect Strike 3’s rights described in its complaint. The Clerk was directed to close the motion at ECF No. 6.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.