Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.102.98.115
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:22-cv-06315
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Gilliam granted leave to subpoena Comcast for Doe’s identity, with notice and confidentiality protections.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC, the John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.102.98.115, Comcast Cable, and any other internet-service provider or subscriber covered by the order.
What happened
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.102.98.115, Strike 3 asked to serve Comcast Cable with a subpoena before the parties’ usual discovery conference.
The court found good cause and allowed the subpoena to seek the subscriber’s name and address. Strike 3 could also subpoena another internet provider identified in response. The order required notice to the subscriber, allowed the subscriber or provider 30 days to challenge the subpoena, and limited use of the information to enforcing the claims in the complaint.
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. also issued a limited protective order requiring any identifying information released to Strike 3 to remain confidential until the subscriber could ask to proceed anonymously and the court ruled on that request. The court granted the application.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.102.98.115 · No. 4:22-cv-06315
- Haywood Gilliam
- Nov. 15, 2022
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC applied for permission to serve a third-party subpoena on Comcast Cable before the parties held the conference generally required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). The opinion refers to the complaint and to alleged copyright infringement involving adult motion pictures, but it does not decide whether the alleged infringement occurred or whether the subscriber assigned the listed Internet Protocol address was the infringer.
Court’s ruling
The court found that Strike 3 had shown “good cause” to serve Comcast with a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45. The subpoena could require Comcast to provide the true name and address of the John Doe subscriber assigned the Internet Protocol address identified in the complaint and caption. Strike 3 had to attach the order to the subpoena.
The court also permitted Strike 3 to serve the same type of subpoena on another internet-service provider identified in response to a subpoena as providing internet services to the defendant.
If an internet-service provider qualified as a cable operator under 47 U.S.C. § 522(5), the order required it to comply with 47 U.S.C. § 551(c)(2)(B), which permits disclosure of personal identifying information under a court order if the subscriber is notified of the order. Each internet-service provider had 30 days after service to give the affected subscriber a copy of the subpoena and the order. The subscriber or provider then had 30 days to file a motion challenging, quashing, or modifying the subpoena. If no challenge was filed during that period, the provider had 10 additional days to produce the responsive information.
Confidentiality protection
The court issued a limited protective order because the subscriber might not be the person who infringed Strike 3’s copyright and because of the potential embarrassment from being publicly accused of illegally downloading adult motion pictures. Any name or other identifying information released to Strike 3 had to be treated as confidential and could not be publicly disclosed until the subscriber had an opportunity to ask to proceed anonymously and the court ruled on that request. The protection would expire if the subscriber did not file that request within 30 days after the information was disclosed.
Disposition
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. granted Strike 3’s ex parte application for leave to serve a third-party subpoena.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.