Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe

Document and requested relief

The provided document is a letter from Jacqueline M. James, counsel for Strike 3 Holdings, LLC. It is labeled as a pre-motion request. The letter asks the court to permit Strike 3 to file a motion seeking permission to serve a third-party subpoena before the parties hold the conference required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f). It also asks the court to postpone any initial scheduling conference until the defendant is identified and served.

Background

Strike 3 brought the case against a John Doe defendant because it does not know the defendant’s name or address. The letter says the defendant is identified only by an internet protocol address and alleges that the address was used to infringe Strike 3’s copyrighted works through the BitTorrent file-distribution network. Strike 3 says Spectrum, the internet-service provider, maintains records that could connect the address to a customer.

Arguments described in the letter

Strike 3 says it will seek limited early discovery—the exchange of information before the normal discovery process begins—to learn the defendant’s identity. It asserts that good cause exists under Rule 26(d)(1) and cites factors courts have considered in similar copyright cases, including a preliminary showing of infringement, a specific request, the lack of another way to obtain the information, the importance of the information, and the defendant’s limited privacy expectation.

Disposition

The provided text contains no order, ruling, or decision by the court. It therefore does not show whether the court granted, denied, or otherwise acted on Strike 3’s requests.