Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.92.105.185

Background

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC alleged that the unidentified defendant associated with Comcast IP address 73.92.105.185 used BitTorrent to download and distribute Strike 3’s copyrighted adult motion pictures. Strike 3 alleged that its monitoring system made direct connections with the IP address, downloaded files containing copies of its movies, and confirmed the files through BitTorrent identification data. Strike 3 alleged that the defendant had infringed 136 movies over an extended period and had no authorization to distribute them.

Strike 3 filed one copyright-infringement claim under the Copyright Act. Because it could not identify the individual associated with the IP address, it asked for permission to serve Comcast Cable, a non-party internet-service provider, with a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 subpoena. The requested subpoena was limited to the name and address of the individual or individuals associated with the IP address.

Legal standard

The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d) permits early discovery before the parties’ required initial conference when appropriate. Courts generally require a showing of “good cause,” meaning that the need for expedited discovery outweighs the possible prejudice to the responding party.

For a request to identify an unknown defendant, the court considered whether the plaintiff had: (1) identified the Doe defendant specifically enough to show that the defendant was a real person who could be sued in federal court; (2) described its efforts to locate and identify the defendant; (3) shown that the complaint could withstand a motion to dismiss; and (4) shown that the requested discovery was reasonably likely to produce information permitting service of process.

Analysis

The court found that Strike 3 satisfied all four requirements. First, the allegations that the defendant directed a BitTorrent client to download and distribute the movies were specific enough for the court to determine that the defendant was an identifiable adult who could likely be the primary subscriber or someone known to the subscriber. The court also found that tracing the downloads to the Northern District of California supported jurisdiction over the defendant and the federal copyright claim.

Second, Strike 3 had described its efforts to identify the defendant and explained that the IP address alone was not enough. Third, the court held that Strike 3 had sufficiently alleged a basic copyright-infringement claim: ownership of the copyrighted works and violation of at least one exclusive copyright right. Fourth, the court found that Comcast could likely identify the defendant through the IP address.

The court also issued a limited protective order. It recognized that the internet subscriber might not be the person who infringed the copyrights and that allegations of illegally downloading adult movies could involve sensitive and highly personal information. Information Comcast disclosed to Strike 3 had to remain confidential until the Doe defendant had an opportunity to ask to proceed anonymously and the court ruled on that request. If the Doe defendant did not seek permission to proceed anonymously within 30 days after disclosure to Strike 3’s counsel, the limited protection would expire.

Order

The court granted Strike 3’s motion for expedited discovery. Strike 3 could immediately serve Comcast with a Rule 45 subpoena seeking the Doe defendant’s true name and addresses, with a copy of the order attached.

Comcast had 30 days after service to notify the Doe defendant. The Doe defendant then had 30 days after service to file a motion challenging the subpoena, including a motion to quash or modify it. If that period passed without a challenge, Comcast would have 10 days to provide the responsive information to Strike 3. The subpoenaed entity had to preserve the information while any timely challenge was pending. Any disclosed information could be used only to protect Strike 3’s rights described in the complaint.

Judge Laurel Beeler signed the order as a United States Magistrate Judge on June 8, 2021. The order authorized discovery and protective measures; it did not decide whether the Doe defendant actually infringed Strike 3’s copyrights.