Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 67.169.159.216
- Yvonne Rogers
- 4:21-cv-04729
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 8
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Beeler granted early discovery allowing a subpoena to identify the unknown subscriber.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may subpoena Comcast Cable for the identity and addresses of the person or people associated with IP address 67.169.159.216. The unidentified subscriber may challenge the subpoena within the stated deadlines, and any disclosed identifying information is temporarily protected from public disclosure.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued an unidentified subscriber associated with IP address 67.169.159.216, alleging that the person used BitTorrent to download and distribute its copyrighted adult movies. Strike 3 asked to subpoena Comcast Cable, the internet provider, for the subscriber’s name and address.
The court found good cause for early discovery because Strike 3 identified a specific potential defendant, described its efforts to identify that person, showed that its copyright claim could proceed, and demonstrated that Comcast was likely to have identifying information. The court also entered a limited protective order because the subscriber might not be the alleged infringer and the allegations involved sensitive personal matters.
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 67.169.159.216, Judge Laurel Beeler granted Strike 3’s motion. Strike 3 may immediately serve Comcast with a subpoena, but the subscriber must receive notice and has 30 days to challenge it; any information produced may be used only to protect Strike 3’s rights in the lawsuit.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 67.169.159.216 · No. 4:21-cv-04729
- Yvonne Rogers
- July 12, 2021
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC alleged that an unidentified person using IP address 67.169.159.216 infringed its copyrights in several adult motion pictures. According to Strike 3, the person used BitTorrent to download and distribute the movies without authorization. Strike 3 said its detection system connected to the IP address, downloaded files containing copies of its movies, and recorded infringement involving 40 movies over an extended period. Strike 3 traced the downloads to a physical address in the Northern District of California but could not identify the individual.
Strike 3 filed one copyright-infringement claim and sought permission to serve Comcast Cable, a non-party internet-service provider, with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45. The requested information was limited to the name and address of the person or people associated with the IP address.
Reasoning
The court applied the good-cause standard used for early discovery before the parties’ required initial conference. It considered whether Strike 3 had: (1) identified the unknown defendant with enough specificity to show that the person was real and could be sued in federal court; (2) described its efforts to identify the person; (3) shown that the complaint could survive a motion to dismiss; and (4) shown that the requested discovery was reasonably likely to produce information allowing service of the lawsuit.
The court found that Strike 3 satisfied all four requirements. It concluded that the allegations identified a person who downloaded and distributed the movies and that the alleged conduct and geographic tracing supported federal jurisdiction. The court also found that Strike 3 had adequately alleged ownership of the copyrights and unauthorized copying and distribution, which was enough at this stage to establish a preliminary copyright claim. Finally, the court found that Comcast was likely able to identify the person associated with the IP address.
Protective order
The court issued a limited protective order because the subscriber might not be the person who committed the alleged infringement and because the case involved sensitive allegations. Information Comcast disclosed to Strike 3 must remain confidential until the subscriber has an opportunity to ask to proceed anonymously and the court rules on that request. The protection expires if the subscriber does not file such a request within 30 days after the information is disclosed to Strike 3’s counsel. Any filing containing identifying information may be submitted under seal under the conditions described by the court.
Order
The court granted Strike 3’s ex parte motion for expedited discovery. Strike 3 may immediately serve Comcast with a Rule 45 subpoena seeking the Doe defendant’s true name and addresses, and must attach the court’s order.
Comcast must notify the Doe defendant within 30 days after being served. The Doe defendant then has 30 days after receiving notice to file a motion challenging the subpoena, including a motion to cancel or change it. If no timely challenge is filed, Comcast has 10 days to produce responsive information. Comcast must preserve the information while any timely challenge is pending. Information obtained through the subpoena may be used only to protect Strike 3’s rights in this lawsuit.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.