Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.102.4.25
- William Orrick
- 3:24-cv-01025
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Strike 3 Holdings v. John Doe, Judge Orrick granted Strike 3 permission to subpoena Comcast for the anonymous defendant’s name and address, with privacy protections.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek the anonymous defendant’s name and address from Comcast. The anonymous defendant receives notice and an opportunity to challenge the subpoena, while Comcast must preserve the information and follow the order’s production requirements.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings asked for permission to subpoena the internet service provider connected to IP address 76.102.4.25 so it could learn the anonymous defendant’s name and address in an alleged copyright-infringement case.
The court found good cause based on Strike 3’s sworn submissions and allowed a narrowly limited subpoena. The order requires notice to the defendant, gives the defendant 30 days to challenge the subpoena, and protects the identifying information from disclosure.
Judge Orrick granted the request and issued the protective order. Comcast must preserve the information, and it must produce the information only if the defendant does not timely challenge the subpoena.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 76.102.4.25 · No. 3:24-cv-01025
- William Orrick
- Mar. 14, 2024
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC applied without notice to the opposing party for permission to serve an early subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 on the internet service provider associated with the anonymous defendant’s known IP address, 76.102.4.25. Strike 3 sought only the name and address associated with that IP address. It alleged that the defendant infringed its copyright.
Court’s analysis
Judge Orrick found good cause to allow the narrowly limited subpoena based on Strike 3’s sworn submissions. The court found that Strike 3 had made a sufficient preliminary showing that it owned the works at issue, that at least one work was being infringed by the Doe defendant, and that the court had personal jurisdiction based on geolocation of the IP address. The court also found a sufficient preliminary basis to conclude that the subpoena was reasonably likely to identify the defendant and facilitate service, that the information might be deleted without preservation, that Strike 3 had no other reasonable way to identify the defendant after pursuing other avenues, and that the request was narrowly tailored.
Order
The court granted Strike 3 leave to immediately serve Comcast Cable with a Rule 45 subpoena seeking only the defendant’s true name and address associated with the identified IP address. The order must be attached to the subpoena.
Comcast must serve the defendant with the subpoena and the order within 15 days after being served. The defendant then has 30 days after service by Comcast to contest the subpoena by moving to quash or modify it. The defendant may also ask to proceed under a pseudonym. If the defendant does not timely contest the subpoena, Comcast must provide the responsive information to Strike 3 within 10 days after the challenge period ends. Comcast must preserve the information until it produces it or the court rules on a challenge.
The court also issued a protective order. Strike 3 may use the subpoenaed information only to prosecute this action and protect the rights alleged in its complaint. It may not disclose the defendant’s name or address to a third party without the court’s permission. Any filing containing the information or otherwise identifying the defendant must be filed unredacted under seal under the applicable local rules. The protective order remains in effect until the court dissolves it. The order addresses early discovery and privacy protections; the opinion does not enter a final ruling on copyright liability.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.