Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.226.80.185
- Virginia Demarchi
- 5:22-cv-04570
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Demarchi granted Strike 3 permission to subpoena AT&T for the subscriber’s identity.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek the identity of the John Doe subscriber through AT&T; AT&T must notify the subscriber and may object or seek a protective order. The subscriber’s identifying information is protected from public disclosure absent consent or court permission.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.226.80.185 and asked to identify the defendant before the parties’ required Rule 26(f) meeting. It sought permission to subpoena AT&T U-verse, the internet service provider connected to that address.
The court found good cause for early discovery. It allowed Strike 3 to serve AT&T with a subpoena seeking the subscriber’s true name and address, subject to notice and privacy protections. The order did not decide whether the subscriber infringed copyright.
The court granted Strike 3’s motion. Judge Virginia K. Demarchi required AT&T to notify the subscriber, allowed AT&T to object or seek protection from the subpoena, and barred public disclosure of identifying information without the subscriber’s consent or the court’s permission.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.226.80.185 · No. 5:22-cv-04570
- Virginia Demarchi
- Sept. 6, 2022
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC asked for permission to serve a third-party subpoena on AT&T U-verse before the parties held the conference required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). Strike 3 identified the defendant as John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.226.80.185 and sought the subscriber’s true name and address.
Court’s Analysis
The court found good cause for early discovery. It stated that Strike 3 had shown that it could identify a real person or entity who could be sued in federal court, had taken steps to locate the defendant, had an action that could withstand a motion to dismiss, and had a reasonable likelihood of identifying the defendant through discovery. The court also noted Strike 3’s representation that it had satisfied the copyright-registration requirement under 17 U.S.C. § 411(a).
The opinion recognized that merely alleging that someone subscribed to an internet-protocol address associated with infringing activity is not enough, by itself, to state a plausible copyright-infringement claim. But at this stage, based on the record presented, the court concluded that Strike 3 could use limited discovery to determine the defendant’s identity. The order did not decide whether the subscriber committed copyright infringement.
Order
The court granted Strike 3’s application and allowed it to serve AT&T with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45. The subpoena may command AT&T to provide the name and address of the subscriber to whom it assigned IP address 76.226.80.185, and Strike 3 must attach the order to the subpoena.
AT&T must serve the subscriber with copies of the subpoena and order within 30 days after AT&T receives the subpoena. AT&T may use any reasonable method, including first-class mail or overnight delivery to the subscriber’s last known address. Strike 3 may use information obtained through the subpoena only to protect and enforce the rights described in its complaint. AT&T may object to the subpoena or seek a protective order. If AT&T provides identifying information, Strike 3 may not publicly disclose it without the subscriber’s consent or permission from the court.
Disposition
Judge Virginia K. Demarchi granted the ex parte motion for leave to serve the subpoena. This was an early-discovery order and did not resolve the underlying copyright claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.