Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 67.180.235.236
- Edward Chen
- 3:21-cv-09209
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 4
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Chen granted expedited discovery allowing a Comcast subpoena to identify the alleged copyright infringer.
Strike 3 Holdings may seek the Doe defendant’s name and addresses from Comcast. The Doe defendant receives notice and an opportunity to challenge the subpoena or seek permission to proceed anonymously; Comcast must preserve and handle the information under the order’s requirements.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC alleged that the unidentified person using IP address 67.180.235.236 infringed its copyrights in 45 adult motion pictures. It asked to subpoena Comcast, the internet provider, for the subscriber’s identity.
The court found good cause for early discovery because Strike 3 Holdings met the required factors: identifying a real potential defendant, describing its efforts to find that person, showing the case could survive a dismissal request, and showing that Comcast likely had identifying information.
Judge Edward M. Chen granted the discovery request. Strike 3 Holdings may immediately serve Comcast with a subpoena for the Doe defendant’s name and addresses, but the information must remain confidential while the Doe defendant has an opportunity to challenge the subpoena or ask to proceed anonymously.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 67.180.235.236 · No. 3:21-cv-09209
- Edward Chen
- Dec. 10, 2021
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC alleged that the person using IP address 67.180.235.236 infringed its copyrights in 45 adult motion pictures over an extended period. Strike 3 Holdings said it could not identify the individual through its own efforts and asked for permission to serve a Rule 45 subpoena on Comcast, the non-party internet service provider associated with the IP address.
Reasoning
The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d) permits discovery before the parties’ required initial conference when good cause exists. Courts evaluate whether the need for early discovery outweighs possible prejudice to the responding party. For a subpoena seeking the identity of an unidentified defendant, the court considered whether the plaintiff had: identified a real person who could be sued in federal court; described its efforts to locate that person; shown that the complaint could withstand a motion to dismiss; and shown that the requested discovery was reasonably likely to produce information permitting service.
The court found that Strike 3 Holdings made a sufficient showing on all four factors and established good cause for early discovery.
Ruling
The court GRANTED Strike 3 Holdings’s motion for expedited discovery. Strike 3 Holdings may immediately serve Comcast with a Rule 45 subpoena seeking the Doe defendant’s true name and addresses, and it must attach the order to the subpoena.
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 quash or modify it. The subpoenaed entity must preserve the information while any timely motion to quash is resolved. The order also requires confidentiality: information disclosed to Strike 3 Holdings may be used only to protect the rights described in its complaint. Strike 3 Holdings may not publicly disclose the information before the Doe defendant has an opportunity to seek permission to proceed anonymously and the court rules on that request.
Judge Edward M. Chen stated that the order disposed of Docket No. 7. The opinion did not decide whether copyright infringement occurred.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.