Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. John Doe Subscriber Assigned IP Address 72.239.135.103

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida grants Strike 3 Holdings, LLC leave to serve a third-party Rule 45 subpoena on the internet service provider associated with the identified IP address before the Rule 26(f) conference. The order establishes notice, objection, privacy, limited-use, and pre-service communication procedures for the subscriber whose identifying information is sought.

Holdings

1. A court may authorize discovery before the Rule 26(f) conference when the requesting party shows good cause, and Plaintiff established good cause by sufficiently alleging copyright infringement and demonstrating that it had no other means to identify the alleged infringer and proceed with the action.
2. The possibility that the subscriber is not the actual infringer does not, by itself, justify denying the requested discovery when Plaintiff cannot otherwise proceed, but it requires procedural protections before the subscriber's identity is publicly disclosed or the subscriber is named and served.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff established good cause to obtain early discovery from a third-party internet service provider before the Rule 26(f) conference.
2. What procedural and privacy protections should govern disclosure of the subscriber's identifying information.

Disposition

other