Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 98.42.106.44
- Laurel Beeler
- 3:22-cv-05088
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 8
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Beeler allowed early discovery so Strike 3 could subpoena Comcast for the Doe defendant’s identity.
Strike 3 Holdings may seek the Doe defendant’s identity from Comcast. John Doe may challenge the subpoena and seek to proceed anonymously. Comcast must follow the order’s notice, preservation, production, and cost-related procedures.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 98.42.106.44 for allegedly downloading and distributing Strike 3’s copyrighted adult movies through BitTorrent. Strike 3 did not know the person’s identity and asked to subpoena Comcast, the internet provider associated with the IP address.
The court found good cause for early discovery because Strike 3 identified a potentially real defendant, described its efforts to identify that person, showed that its copyright claim could proceed, and showed that Comcast was likely to have identifying information. The court also recognized that the subscriber might not be the person who used the IP address.
Judge Beeler granted Strike 3’s motion. Strike 3 may immediately serve Comcast with a subpoena for the Doe defendant’s true name and addresses, subject to procedures allowing the Doe defendant to challenge the subpoena and limiting the use and public disclosure of the information.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 98.42.106.44 · No. 3:22-cv-05088
- Laurel Beeler
- Sept. 26, 2022
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC alleged that the person using Comcast Cable IP address 98.42.106.44 downloaded and distributed 28 of Strike 3’s copyrighted adult motion pictures through BitTorrent. Strike 3 said its detection system established direct connections with the IP address, downloaded copies of the movies from the defendant, and used the BitTorrent file-identification data to confirm the source. Strike 3 alleged that it owned the copyrights and had not authorized the distribution.
Strike 3 filed one copyright-infringement claim against the unidentified defendant. It then asked for permission to serve Comcast with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45. The requested subpoena was limited to the name and address of the individual or individuals associated with the IP address.
Reasoning
The court applied the good-cause standard generally used in the Ninth Circuit for expedited discovery—discovery allowed before the parties’ usual initial conference. The court considered whether Strike 3: (1) identified a real, suable defendant with enough specificity; (2) described its efforts to find the defendant; (3) showed that the complaint could withstand a motion to dismiss; and (4) showed that the requested discovery was reasonably likely to produce information permitting service of process.
The court found that Strike 3 satisfied all four factors. The allegations identified a person who used the IP address to download and distribute the movies, and the downloads were traced to the Northern District of California. Strike 3 had explained that the IP address alone was insufficient to identify the person. The court also found that Strike 3 had sufficiently alleged a direct copyright-infringement claim by alleging copyright ownership and unauthorized copying and distribution. Finally, the court accepted Strike 3’s allegation that Comcast could identify the person associated with the IP address.
Protective order
The court issued a limited protective order because the subscriber might be an innocent third party and the allegations involved sensitive personal matters. Information that Comcast provided to Strike 3 must remain confidential and may not be publicly disclosed until the Doe defendant has an opportunity to seek permission to proceed anonymously and the court rules on that request. If the Doe defendant does not file that request within 30 days after the information is disclosed to Strike 3’s counsel, the limited protective order will expire. The court also allowed identifying information in an anonymity request to be filed under seal while the request is pending.
Disposition
The court granted Strike 3’s ex parte motion for expedited discovery. Strike 3 may immediately serve Comcast with a Rule 45 subpoena, accompanied by the order, seeking the Doe defendant’s true name and addresses. Comcast must serve the Doe defendant with the subpoena and order within 30 days after service. The Doe defendant then has 30 days after service to file a motion contesting, quashing, or modifying the subpoena. If no timely challenge is filed, Comcast has 10 days to produce the responsive information. Comcast must preserve the subpoenaed information while any timely motion to quash is resolved, and information obtained through the subpoena may be used only to protect Strike 3’s rights asserted in the complaint.
The order authorized discovery; it did not decide whether the Doe defendant actually infringed Strike 3’s copyrights.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.