Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.170.43.248
- Joseph Spero
- 3:21-cv-04740
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Spero allowed subpoenas seeking the anonymous subscriber’s identity and address from internet providers.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC, the anonymous subscriber assigned IP address 73.170.43.248, Comcast Cable, and any other internet service provider identified through the authorized subpoenas.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC asked the Northern District of California for permission to subpoena Comcast before the parties held their usual early case conference. The subpoena sought the name and address of the subscriber assigned to IP address 73.170.43.248.
The court found good cause and granted the application. It authorized subpoenas to Comcast and any other internet provider identified in response, required notice to the subscriber, and gave the subscriber and provider 30 days to challenge a subpoena.
If no timely challenge was filed, the provider would have 10 days to produce the requested information. The court also required preservation of the information, limited its use to protecting rights under the Copyright Act, and ordered identifying information filed under seal. Judge Spero signed the order.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.170.43.248 · No. 3:21-cv-04740
- Joseph Spero
- July 9, 2021
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sought permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference. A third-party subpoena is a formal demand for information from someone who is not a party to the lawsuit. The requested information concerned the subscriber assigned IP address 73.170.43.248.
Ruling
The court found that Strike 3 had shown “good cause” to serve a subpoena on Comcast Cable. It granted the application and authorized Strike 3 to serve Comcast with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 seeking the defendant’s true name and address. The subpoena had to include a copy of the court’s order.
The court also authorized Strike 3 to serve the same type of subpoena on any internet service provider identified in response as a provider of internet services to the defendant. The order treated the authorized subpoenas as court orders permitting disclosure under 47 U.S.C. § 551, subject to the statute’s notice requirement.
Notice and challenges
Each provider had 30 days after being served to give the affected subscriber a copy of the subpoena and the order. Each subscriber and provider then had 30 days after service to file a motion contesting the subpoena, including a motion to quash or modify it. If that period expired without a challenge from the subscriber or provider, the provider had 10 days to produce the responsive information.
Other restrictions
The court ordered each provider to preserve the subpoenaed information until it delivered the information to Strike 3 or a timely motion to quash was finally resolved. Information produced in response to a subpoena could be used only to protect Strike 3’s rights under the Copyright Act. The names and other personal identifying information of current or proposed defendants and other subscribers had to be filed under seal and not otherwise disclosed.
This order addressed discovery of identifying information and did not decide the underlying copyright dispute.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.