First Time Videos, LLC v. Does 1-76, 1:11-cv-03831

Plaintiff First Time Videos, LLC sues 76 unnamed defendants for copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 504 and civil conspiracy related to BitTorrent distribution of a protected video.
Plaintiff seeks expedited discovery to identify Doe defendants by subpoenaing their ISPs for names, addresses, and contact information.
Defendants move to quash subpoenas, arguing First Amendment anonymity, improper subpoena scope, and lack of jurisdictional basis.
Court has previously denied similar motions to quash in related cases and reasons that BitTorrent’s structure supports joinder and common questions of law.
Court concludes joinder is appropriate and that discovery and jurisdiction issues are premature; quash motions denied, severance denied, and personal jurisdiction denial stayed pending discovery.
Judgment entered denying the motions to quash, with potential fee-denial considerations addressed for those motions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the subpoena should be quashed	Plaintiff contends Doe 71.239.21.116’s and others’ IP addresses reveal infringement in Illinois.	Does argue protection of anonymous speech and improper scope.	Quash denied; anonymity protection is minimal and not a bar to discovery.
Whether joinder under Rule 20 is proper	Doe defendants acted in a common BitTorrent swarm causing coordinated infringement.	Defendants claim lack of common facts.	Joinder denied severance denied; court finds common questions of law and fact and plausible common infringement.
Whether personal jurisdiction is appropriate	Plaintiff traced IPs to Illinois; jurisdiction exists for asserted infringements.	Premature absence of discovery; insufficient information.	Personal jurisdiction denial deferred pending discovery; not decided at this stage.
Whether discovery to identify Does is premature or proper	Expedited discovery necessary to identify infringers.	Subpoenas may impose burdens; argued for limited or quashed discovery.	Discovery to identify Does approved; motions to quash denied as to identification.

Call of the Wild Movie, LLC v. Does 1-1,062, 770 F. Supp. 2d 332 (D.D.C. 2011) (BitTorrent participation and common questions in joinder)
Sony Music Entm’t v. Does 1-40, 326 F. Supp. 2d 556 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) (First Amendment limits but does not bar infringement actions in file-sharing)