Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe subscriber assigned IP address 73.65.121.67

This omnibus order, issued by Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster on July 28, 2025, addresses 33 nearly identical copyright infringement cases filed by Strike 3 Holdings, LLC ('Strike 3') against anonymous 'John Doe' defendants in the District of Minnesota between April and June 2025.

Background and Allegations Strike 3 is an adult film company that distributes movies through websites and DVDs. In each case, it alleges a John Doe defendant used BitTorrent — a peer-to-peer file-sharing protocol — to illegally download and redistribute Strike 3's copyrighted works. Strike 3 says it operates a proprietary infringement detection system called 'VXN' that identified each defendant's IP address as the source of the infringing activity. Because Strike 3 cannot identify any defendant beyond an IP address, and because each defendant's internet service provider (ISP) is the entity that can match an IP address to a real subscriber name and address, Strike 3 sought permission to subpoena the ISPs before the formal discovery phase of litigation begins.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d)(1), parties ordinarily must complete a preliminary conference (called a Rule 26(f) conference) before seeking information from anyone. Strike 3 moved to bypass this requirement in all 33 cases, filing what are called 'ex parte' motions — meaning the court heard only Strike 3's side, not the defendants', since the defendants are unknown. The motions were substantively identical across all cases.

Legal Standard: Good Cause for Expedited Discovery The Eighth Circuit has not established a specific test for when early discovery is appropriate in these circumstances. Courts in this district apply a 'good cause' standard. The court here applied the five-factor test from Arista Records, LLC v. Doe, 604 F.3d 110, 119 (2d Cir. 2010): 1. Concreteness of the plaintiff's claim of actionable harm; 2. Specificity of the discovery request; 3. Absence of alternative means to get the information; 4. Necessity of the information to advance the case; 5. The defendant's expectation of privacy.

Application of the Five Factors The court found good cause under all five factors: (1) Strike 3 adequately alleged copyright ownership and unauthorized copying and distribution; (2) the subpoenas would seek only name and address, which is narrow and specific; (3) there is no workable alternative — the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) subpoena process was held by the Eighth Circuit in In re Charter Communications, 393 F.3d 771 (8th Cir. 2005) not to apply when an ISP acts merely as a conduit for data between users, as is the case here; (4) the cases cannot proceed to serve defendants without knowing their identities; and (5) with appropriate privacy protections, Strike 3's right to pursue its copyright claims outweighs the defendants' privacy interests.

The court expressly acknowledged that the IP address subscriber may not be the actual infringer — someone else in the household or on the network could have been responsible — and recognized the sensitive nature of the alleged content.

Privacy Protections Ordered To protect the unnamed defendants, the court issued a limited protective order with these requirements: - Each ISP must notify the relevant subscriber within 14 calendar days of receiving the subpoena. - The subscriber then has 45 calendar days to seek a protective order, file a response, or both. - Each subpoena must allow at least 60 days before any production is required. - Strike 3 may not publicly disclose the subscriber's identity until the defendant has had an opportunity to ask the court to proceed anonymously and the court has ruled on that request. - If a defendant does not move to proceed anonymously within 45 days of disclosure to Strike 3's counsel, the protective order expires. - Any request to proceed anonymously that includes identifying information must be temporarily filed under seal. - Strike 3 must serve a copy of the court's order alongside each subpoena. - ISPs must certify in their response that they notified the subscriber and state the date of notice. - No other discovery is authorized.

Status Report Requirement Strike 3 must file a status report in each of the 33 cases by September 23, 2025, describing discovery progress without revealing any defendant's identity.

Outcome All 33 motions were granted, subject to the conditions described above. The cases involve ISPs Comcast Cable, US Internet Corp, and Spectrum. This is at least the eighth omnibus order the court has issued in similar Strike 3 cases filed in this district since 2023.