Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe

Filing 6

OPINION and ORDER Granting Plaintiff's 4 Motion for Leave to Serve a Third Party Subpoena Prior to Rule 26(f) Conference. Signed by District Judge Linda V. Parker. (RLou)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
STRIKE 3 HOLDINGS, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 18-10103
Honorable Linda V. Parker

JOHN DOE subscriber assigned
IP Address 71.227.18.132,
Defendants.
____________________________________/
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR
LEAVE TO SERVE A THIRD PARTY SUBPOENA PRIOR TO RULE 26(f)
CONFERENCE
On January 9, 2018, Plaintiff filed this lawsuit against an unknown
individual alleging that the individual acquired and distributed Plaintiff’s
copyrighted works through an online, file-sharing network. Presently before the
Court is Plaintiff’s motion for leave to serve a third-party subpoena prior to a Rule
26(f) conference, filed January 30, 2018. Plaintiff filed the motion seeking to
propound discovery requests upon Internet Service Provider (“ISP”) Comcast
Cable in order to identify the individual associated with the Internet Protocol
(“IP”) address from which the alleged infringing conduct was committed. For the
reasons that follow, the Court is granting Plaintiff’s motion for immediate
discovery with certain conditions.

Plaintiff is the owner of federally registered copyrights to several adult
motion pictures. (ECF No. 5-1.) Plaintiff claims that Defendant illegally acquired
and distributed those movies via the Internet. (See, e.g., ECF No. 5-2 ¶ 7.)
Through forensic software, Plaintiff identified Defendant’s IP address and
determined that Defendant used the internet system of the above-identified ISP to
engage in the alleged illegal conduct. (Id. ¶¶ 4 ,7)
Plaintiff establishes that “good cause” exists for it to serve a third-party
subpoena on Comcast Cable in advance of a Rule 26(f) conference. See Artista
Records, LLC v. Doe 3, 604 F.3d 110, 119 (2d Cir. 2010) (citing Sony Music
Entm’t, Inc. v. Does 1-40, 326 F. Supp. 2d 556, 565 (S.D.N.Y. 2004)); Artista
Records LLC v. Does 1-19, 551 F. Supp. 2d 1, 6-7 (D.D.C. 2008) (citing cases).
Plaintiff makes a prima facie showing of a claim of copyright infringement,
submits a specific discovery request, and establishes that (1) there are no
alternative means to obtain the information that its seeks through the discovery, (2)
there is a central need for the information, and (3) Defendant has a minimal
expectation of privacy. The Court is satisfied that Defendant must be identified
before this suit can progress further.
For these reasons, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion for leave to serve a
third-party subpoena prior to a Rule 26(f) conference, with the following
limitations. Plaintiff will be allowed to serve immediate discovery on the ISP to

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obtain Defendant’s identity by serving a Rule 45 subpoena that seeks information
sufficient to identify Defendant, including name, current (and permanent)
addresses, telephone number, email address, and Media Access Control address.
Plaintiff shall attach a copy of this Opinion and Order to the subpoena. Disclosure
of the information requested is ordered pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 551(c)(2)(B),
which authorizes cable operators to disclose personally identifiable information
when the cable operators are ordered to do so by a court. Any information
disclosed to Plaintiff in response to the Rule 45 subpoena may be used solely for
the purpose of protecting Plaintiff’s rights as set forth in the Complaint.
When the ISP is served with a subpoena, it shall give written notice, which
may include email notice, to the subscriber in question within five (5) business
days. If the ISP or subscriber wants to move to quash the subpoena, the party must
do so before the return date of the subpoena, which shall be 21 days from the date
of service.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
s/ Linda V. Parker
LINDA V. PARKER
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated: February 22, 2018

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