Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe subscriber assigned IP address 67.174.148.177

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California grants Strike 3 Holdings, LLC’s ex parte application for expedited discovery to identify the subscriber associated with an IP address allegedly used for BitTorrent copyright infringement. The court authorizes a narrowly limited subpoena to obtain only the subscriber’s true name and address, while imposing notice, confidentiality, service, and status-report requirements. The order also provides procedures for a potential defendant to challenge the subpoena and attend a voluntary informal conference.

Holdings

1. The court may authorize expedited discovery before the Rule 26(f) conference when good cause exists, meaning that the need for expedited discovery in light of the administration of justice outweighs prejudice to the responding party.
2. Plaintiff may serve the ISP with a limited subpoena seeking only the true name and address of the person or entity to whom the subject IP address was assigned.
3. Expedited discovery identifying an anonymous IP-address subscriber must be accompanied by safeguards addressing the subscriber's privacy interests and opportunity to challenge the subpoena.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiff demonstrated good cause to obtain expedited discovery before the Rule 26(f) conference.
2. Whether plaintiff should be permitted to serve a narrowly tailored subpoena on the ISP to identify the person or entity associated with the subject IP address.
3. What privacy and procedural safeguards were required before allowing the subpoena and disclosure of the potential defendant's identity.

Disposition

other