Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe

Background

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC brought a copyright-infringement case against a John Doe defendant whose identity was not known. The defendant was identified in the filing by an Internet Protocol address. Strike 3 stated that the address had been used to infringe its copyrighted works through the BitTorrent file-distribution network.

Strike 3 stated that it owned three subscription-based adult websites and the copyrights to the movies distributed through those websites. The opinion text does not identify the defendant by name or state whether the defendant had been served.

Request for Early Discovery

Strike 3 asked for permission to serve a third-party subpoena on Spectrum, the Internet service provider associated with the Internet Protocol address. The requested information was intended to identify the Doe defendant. Strike 3 sought this discovery before the parties’ required conference under Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Rule 26(d)(1) generally bars parties from seeking discovery before that conference unless the court permits it. Strike 3 argued that the court should allow the subpoena because it would present a preliminary showing of copyright infringement, make a specific request, show that no alternative way existed to obtain the information, establish the information’s central importance, and address the defendant’s privacy interest.

Strike 3 also requested that any initial scheduling conference under Rule 16 be postponed until the defendant was named and served.

Ruling

The court granted Plaintiff’s motion to serve a third-party subpoena under Rule 26(d)(1). It stated that an initial Rule 16 scheduling conference would not be scheduled until sometime after the defendant had answered. The clerk was directed to terminate the motion at ECF No. 6.

The ruling authorized the requested early subpoena, but the opinion text does not decide whether the alleged copyright infringement occurred or impose liability on the Doe defendant.