Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 104.56.119.158

Background

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC alleged that the unidentified defendant associated with IP address 104.56.119.158 downloaded, copied, and distributed 42 of Strike 3’s adult motion pictures without authorization. Strike 3 stated that it owns the copyrights in those works.

Strike 3 sought permission to serve a third-party subpoena on the defendant’s internet service provider, AT&T U-Verse, before the parties’ required conference under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). The subpoena sought the defendant’s name and address so Strike 3 could pursue its claims.

Legal standard

The court explained that formal discovery generally begins after the Rule 26(f) conference. A court may permit discovery earlier when the requesting party shows “good cause”—meaning that the need for early discovery, considering the administration of justice, outweighs potential prejudice to the responding party.

The court applied four considerations: whether the defendant was identified specifically enough to show that the defendant was a real person or entity who could be sued in federal court; whether the plaintiff described prior efforts to locate the defendant; whether the complaint could withstand a motion to dismiss; and whether the requested discovery was reasonably likely to produce information allowing service of process.

Court’s analysis

The court found that Strike 3 identified the defendant with sufficient specificity because it identified an IP address and alleged that geolocation technology traced the address to a physical address within the Northern District of California on two occasions.

The court also found that Strike 3 had taken prior steps to identify the defendant. Those efforts included using geolocation technology, conducting web searches, and consulting investigators. The court stated that AT&T U-Verse was the only identified source of the defendant’s name and address.

The court concluded that Strike 3’s copyright claim could withstand a motion to dismiss. It noted that Strike 3 alleged ownership of the copyrights and alleged that the defendant downloaded, copied, and distributed the works without authorization—conduct that could violate an exclusive copyright right.

Finally, the court found that the subpoena was reasonably likely to produce identifying information because AT&T U-Verse could provide the defendant’s name and address.

Ruling and practical terms of the order

The court granted Strike 3’s application for leave to serve a third-party subpoena before the Rule 26(f) conference. Strike 3 could serve a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 subpoena on AT&T U-Verse to obtain the Doe defendant’s true name and address, and it had to attach a copy of the order.

The order provided that AT&T U-Verse would have 30 days after service to serve the Doe defendant. The Doe defendant would then have 30 days after service to file an application challenging the subpoena, including a request to quash or modify it. If the subpoena was not challenged within that period, AT&T U-Verse would have 10 days to produce the requested information.

AT&T U-Verse had to preserve the subpoenaed information while any timely challenge was pending. Any information disclosed could be used by Strike 3 only to protect its rights in the lawsuit. The order authorized early discovery; it did not decide whether the Doe defendant infringed Strike 3’s copyrights.