Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.162.127.42
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:22-cv-04000
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Gilliam granted leave to subpoena Comcast for identifying information, subject to notice, challenges, and confidentiality protections.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek the John Doe subscriber’s identifying information from Comcast Cable and any later-identified internet service provider. The subscriber and each provider may challenge the subpoena within the stated 30-day period, and any released identifying information is subject to the order’s confidentiality requirements.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC asked the court for permission to subpoena Comcast Cable before the parties’ required early discovery conference. The subpoena seeks the name and address of the John Doe subscriber associated with the listed internet address.
The court found good cause and granted the request. Strike 3 may subpoena Comcast and any later-identified internet provider for the subscriber’s identifying information, but the providers must notify the subscriber and allow 30 days to challenge the subpoena. If there is no challenge, the provider has 10 additional days to produce the information.
The order also requires confidentiality protections because the subscriber may not be the person who allegedly infringed the copyright and because the complaint concerns adult movies. Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. ordered that any identifying information remain confidential unless and until the subscriber has an opportunity to ask to proceed anonymously and the court rules on that request.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.162.127.42 · No. 4:22-cv-04000
- Haywood Gilliam
- Aug. 9, 2022
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC applied without advance notice to the opposing party for permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties’ Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f) conference. The requested subpoena would be directed to Comcast Cable, identified as the internet service provider, and would seek the true name and address of the John Doe subscriber associated with the internet protocol address listed in the complaint and caption.
Ruling
The court granted Strike 3’s application after finding that good cause existed under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 45 and 26. Strike 3 may serve Comcast with a Rule 45 subpoena and must attach the order. If a response identifies another internet service provider, Strike 3 may serve that provider with a subpoena in the same manner.
If Comcast qualifies as a cable operator under 47 U.S.C. § 522(5), it must follow 47 U.S.C. § 551(c)(2)(B), including notifying the subscriber of the court order. Each internet service provider has 30 days after service to give the affected subscriber a copy of the subpoena and order. Each subscriber and provider then has 30 days after service on the subscriber to file a motion contesting the subpoena, including a motion to quash or modify it. If no challenge is filed during that period, the provider has 10 days to produce the responsive information.
Protective Order and Effect
The court issued a limited protective order under Rule 26(c). Any name or other identifying information released to Strike 3 must be treated as confidential and may not be publicly disclosed before the subscriber has had an opportunity to ask to proceed anonymously and the court has ruled on that request. If the subscriber does not file that request within 30 days after the information is disclosed to Strike 3, the limited protective order will expire. The order addressed discovery and confidentiality; it did not decide whether the subscriber infringed any copyright.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.