Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.242.101.143
- Patrick Schiltz
- 0:25-cv-01353
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 24
In Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.242.101.143 (and 32 related cases), Magistrate Judge Foster granted Strike 3's requests to subpoena internet service providers before the normal discovery process begins, allowing the company to learn the names and addresses of anonymous defendants it accuses of illegally downloading its copyrighted adult films, subject to privacy protections for those defendants.
Anonymous internet users (John Doe defendants) accused of illegally downloading copyrighted adult films via BitTorrent, whose names and addresses may be disclosed to Strike 3 Holdings, LLC by their internet service providers pursuant to this order. Internet service providers (Comcast, US Internet Corp, and Spectrum) are also directly affected as the recipients of the court-authorized subpoenas.
What happened
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC filed 33 separate copyright infringement lawsuits in the District of Minnesota between April and June 2025, each against an unknown person identified only by an internet protocol (IP) address. In each case, Strike 3 alleges that the defendant used a peer-to-peer file-sharing technology called BitTorrent to illegally download and distribute Strike 3's copyrighted adult films, and that only the defendant's internet service provider (ISP) — such as Comcast, US Internet Corp, or Spectrum — can link the IP address to a real name and address.
Because Strike 3 cannot identify or serve the defendants without first learning who they are, it asked the court for permission to issue legal demands (called subpoenas) to the ISPs before the normal pre-lawsuit conference with opposing parties takes place. The court evaluated the requests under a five-factor "good cause" test drawn from the case Arista Records, LLC v. Doe, weighing the strength of Strike 3's copyright claims, the narrowness of the information sought, the lack of other ways to get the information, the necessity of the information to move the cases forward, and the defendants' privacy interests.
Magistrate Judge Foster granted all 33 motions in this Omnibus Order, but imposed several privacy safeguards: the subpoenas are limited to name and address only; ISPs must notify subscribers within 14 days of being served; subscribers have 45 days to seek court protection or respond; Strike 3 may not publicly disclose any defendant's identity until that defendant has had a chance to ask the court to remain anonymous; and Strike 3 must file a status report in each case by September 23, 2025.
The detailed version
- Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.242.101.143, No. 25-cv-1353 (PJS/DJF), and 32 related cases
- U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
- Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster
- July 28, 2025
Procedural Posture
Strike 3 Holdings, LLC filed 33 nearly identical copyright infringement complaints against unknown "John Doe" defendants in the District of Minnesota from April to June 2025. In each case, Strike 3 filed an ex parte motion (a request made to the court without the opposing party present, because the opposing party's identity is unknown) for leave to serve a Rule 45 subpoena on each defendant's ISP before the parties held a Rule 26(f) conference — the pre-discovery planning meeting ordinarily required before any discovery can begin. The court addressed all 33 motions in a single Omnibus Order, noting it had issued seven similar omnibus orders in prior Strike 3 cases.
Factual Background
Strike 3 alleges it owns valid copyrights in adult films distributed through its websites and DVDs. It operates a proprietary infringement detection system called VXN, which allegedly detected each defendant's IP address illegally distributing one or more of Strike 3's copyrighted works via the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol. Strike 3 cannot identify any defendant beyond the IP address and contends that only each defendant's ISP can correlate that IP address with a subscriber's name and address. The ISPs identified across the 33 cases are Comcast Cable, US Internet Corp, and Spectrum.
Legal Standard
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1), parties generally may not seek discovery before holding a Rule 26(f) conference unless authorized by court order. The Eighth Circuit has not set a specific standard for expedited discovery, so the court applied the "good cause" standard used in this district, guided by five factors from Arista Records, LLC v. Doe, 604 F.3d 110, 119 (2d Cir. 2010): (1) concreteness of a prima facie (sufficient on its face) claim of harm; (2) specificity of the discovery request; (3) absence of alternative means to obtain the information; (4) necessity of the information to advance the claim; and (5) the responding party's expectation of privacy.
Analysis and Ruling
The court found good cause under all five factors: (1) Strike 3 adequately alleged copyright ownership and unauthorized copying and distribution; (2) the subpoenas are narrowly limited to each defendant's name and address during the period of alleged infringement; (3) the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA) subpoena process does not apply when an ISP acts only as a data conduit between users, per In re Charter Communications, 393 F.3d 771 (8th Cir. 2005), leaving no alternative identification method; (4) the cases cannot proceed without identifying the defendants; and (5) Strike 3's right to pursue its claims outweighs defendants' privacy interests when appropriate safeguards are imposed. The court acknowledged the risk that an IP address subscriber may not be the actual infringer, and noted the sensitive nature of the subject matter.
Privacy Protections Ordered
The court granted the motions subject to a limited protective order with the following terms: - Subpoenas may seek only the subscriber's name and address for the period of alleged infringing activity. - Subpoenas must give ISPs at least 60 days before production is required. - ISPs must notify the affected subscriber within 14 days of being served. - Subscribers have 45 days from notice to seek a protective order, file a responsive pleading, or both. - Strike 3 must serve a copy of this Order with each subpoena, and ISPs must forward it to subscribers. - Strike 3 may not publicly disclose any defendant's identity until that defendant has had 45 days to move the court to proceed anonymously; if such a motion is filed with identifying information, it will be temporarily sealed. - Strike 3 must file a status report in each case by September 23, 2025, without including any defendant's identity.
Outcome
All 33 ex parte motions for leave to serve third-party subpoenas prior to a Rule 26(f) conference were GRANTED, subject to the conditions set forth above.
Reviewer note from the AI+
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