Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, 1:25-cv-00140

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against John Doe, alleging unauthorized downloading and distribution of its motion pictures via BitTorrent.
The plaintiff sought leave to serve an early (pre-Rule 26(f) conference) subpoena on the internet service provider (Spectrum) to uncover the defendant’s identity.
The request was made ex parte, meaning the defendant had not yet been served or appeared in the action.
Plaintiff’s complaint alleges ownership and valid copyright registration of the works, as well as the use of proprietary detection tools (VXN Scan and Cross Reference Tool) to track infringement activity.
The court considered whether good cause existed to allow the subpoena before the normal discovery schedule and whether a protective order should limit disclosure of defendant’s identity.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Early discovery to unmask defendant via subpoena	Necessity to identify and serve the alleged infringer due to BitTorrent’s anonymity	Not presented (Doe has not appeared)	Permitted subpoena for name/address, finding good cause
Prima facie copyright infringement claim	Alleged valid copyright ownership and infringement via BitTorrent	Not presented	Allegations suffice for prima facie showing
Specificity and necessity of requested discovery	Request is limited: only name and address from ISP, essential for service	Not presented	Request is sufficiently specific and necessary
Privacy and need for protective order	Consented to confidentiality and anonymity for Doe to avoid undue harm	Not presented	Protective order granted to keep defendant’s identity confidential

Sony Music Entm’t Inc. v. Does 1-40, 326 F. Supp. 2d 556 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) (establishing standard for prima facie copyright infringement claim)
Arista Records LLC v. Doe, 604 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2010) (expectation of privacy in online file-sharing insufficient to shield against discovery in infringement cases)