Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe

Background

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC brought a copyright-infringement case against a defendant identified only as “John Doe.” The opinion states that Strike 3 owns three subscription-based adult websites and the copyrights to the movies distributed through those websites. Strike 3 alleged that the Doe defendant used the BitTorrent file-distribution network to commit direct copyright infringement.

Strike 3 said it knew the defendant only through an Internet Protocol address. It identified RCN as the Internet service provider that assigned the address and stated that the provider’s records could connect the address to a customer’s identity. Strike 3 also stated that providers generally retain those records for only a short time.

Requests

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1), discovery generally cannot begin before the parties hold a conference to plan discovery unless the court orders otherwise. Strike 3 asked for permission to file a motion seeking leave to serve RCN with a third-party subpoena before that conference. It also asked the court to postpone any initial scheduling conference until the defendant was identified and served.

Strike 3 stated that its future motion would address factors courts often consider when deciding whether to allow early discovery in Internet copyright cases, including an initial showing of infringement, a specific discovery request, the absence of another way to obtain the information, the importance of the information, and the defendant’s limited expectation of privacy.

Ruling

The court granted Strike 3’s request to file a motion seeking leave to serve the third-party subpoena under Rule 26(d)(1). The court also granted the request to postpone any initial scheduling conference until the defendant was named and served.

This order did not itself authorize service of the subpoena, identify Doe, or resolve the copyright-infringement allegations. Judge Edgardo Ramos entered the order on June 21, 2022.