Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 98.47.44.52
- Kandis Westmore
- 4:22-cv-04007
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe subscriber, Judge Westmore allowed Strike 3 to subpoena internet providers for the subscriber’s name and address.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek the subscriber’s name and address from Comcast Cable and other identified internet service providers. The subscriber and the providers may challenge the subpoenas within 30 days, and the providers must provide notice and preserve the information.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC asked the court for permission to serve a subpoena before the parties’ required initial conference. It sought the name and address of the person assigned IP address 98.47.44.52.
The court found good cause and authorized Strike 3 to subpoena Comcast Cable and any later-identified internet provider for only the subscriber’s true name and address. The providers must notify the subscriber, who may challenge the subpoena within 30 days.
Judge Kandis A. Westmore also required the providers to preserve the information, limited its use to protecting Strike 3’s rights under the Copyright Act, and required filings containing identifying information to be sealed.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 98.47.44.52 · No. 4:22-cv-04007
- Kandis Westmore
- Aug. 5, 2022
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC filed an ex parte motion seeking permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference. The subpoena concerns the defendant identified in the caption as John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 98.47.44.52.
Ruling
The court found that Strike 3 had established good cause to serve Comcast Cable, identified as the initial internet service provider. The court authorized Strike 3 to serve a Rule 45 subpoena requiring Comcast to provide only the defendant’s true name and address. Strike 3 must attach the order to the subpoena.
The order also permits Strike 3 to serve the same type of subpoena on any other internet service provider identified in response to a subpoena as providing internet services to the defendant. The authorized subpoenas are court orders permitting disclosure under 47 U.S.C. § 551, provided the subscriber is notified.
Conditions on the subpoenas
Each internet service provider has 30 days after service to give the subscriber a copy of the subpoena and this order. The subscriber and the provider each have 30 days after service to file a motion challenging the subpoena, including a motion to quash or modify it. If the subscriber does not challenge the subpoena within that period, the provider has 10 days to produce the responsive information.
Each provider must preserve the subpoenaed information while waiting to provide it to Strike 3 or while a timely motion to quash is resolved. Strike 3 may use information obtained through a subpoena only to protect its rights under the Copyright Act. Documents containing the name or other identifying information of a current or proposed defendant must be filed under seal, following the court’s local filing procedure.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.