Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe
- Vyskocil
- 1:23-cv-00672
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Judge Vyskocil allowed a subpoena seeking the anonymous internet subscriber’s name and address.
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC may seek John Doe’s name and address from Spectrum through a Rule 45 subpoena. Spectrum must receive a copy of the order with the subpoena and may have statutory obligations if it qualifies as a cable operator. The disclosed information may be used only to prosecute this case.
What happened
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, the plaintiff said an internet customer using IP address 66.108.94.19 had downloaded its copyrighted works illegally. The customer’s identity was unknown, and Spectrum was the internet provider that could connect the IP address to a person.
Strike 3 asked for permission to serve Spectrum with a subpoena before the parties’ required early case conference. The request sought only the subscriber’s name and address. The court found that the complaint showed an initial copyright-infringement claim and that the requested information was necessary to continue the case.
The court granted the motion. Judge Vyskocil allowed Strike 3 to serve Spectrum with the subpoena, required Strike 3 to provide Spectrum a copy of the order, limited use of the information to prosecuting this case, and directed the Clerk to terminate the motion.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe · No. 1:23-cv-00672
- Vyskocil
- Feb. 14, 2023
Background
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC sued John Doe, identified in the caption as the subscriber assigned IP address 66.108.94.19. Strike 3 alleged that the subscriber downloaded its copyrighted works illegally. Because the subscriber’s name and address were not known, Strike 3 asked for permission to serve Spectrum with a third-party subpoena.
The request was for expedited discovery—information sought before the normal timing of discovery, and before the parties’ Rule 26(f) conference. Strike 3 relied on the standard described by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and argued that it had good cause to obtain the information early.
Court’s Analysis
The court found that Strike 3’s complaint established a prima facie case of copyright infringement, meaning an initial showing sufficient to support the requested discovery. The court also found that:
- the request was limited to the name and address of one person; - Spectrum was the only entity identified as able to connect the IP address to a real-world person; - Strike 3 could not proceed with its claims without John Doe’s identity; and - the defendant’s privacy interest was outweighed by Strike 3’s ability to pursue the alleged copyright violation.
Ruling
The court granted Strike 3’s motion for leave to serve the subpoena. It ordered that Strike 3 may serve Spectrum with a Rule 45 subpoena seeking the name and address of the defendant to whom Spectrum assigned the IP address identified in the complaint. Strike 3 must serve Spectrum with a copy of the order at the same time as the subpoena. If Spectrum qualifies as a cable operator under the cited federal statute, it must comply with the applicable statutory requirement.
The court further ordered that Strike 3 may use information disclosed through the subpoena only to prosecute its claims in this case. Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion at docket entry 6.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.