Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, 1:25-cv-00211

Strike 3 Holdings, LLC filed a copyright infringement lawsuit, alleging that the defendant, identified by an IP address, downloaded and distributed its copyrighted motion pictures using BitTorrent.
The identity of the defendant is currently unknown, as only the IP address is associated with the infringing activity.
Plaintiff seeks leave to serve a third-party subpoena on the internet service provider (ISP), Spectrum, to obtain defendant's name and address before the parties' Rule 26(f) conference.
Plaintiff asserts that without this information, it cannot serve the defendant or move forward with litigation.
Plaintiff’s copyrighted works were allegedly tracked by proprietary software that detected transmissions from the defendant’s IP address.
The court is considering both the motion for expedited discovery and whether a protective order is appropriate to safeguard the defendant’s privacy.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Early subpoena before Rule 26(f) conference	Necessary to identify defendant and proceed with lawsuit	Not presented (ex parte)	Granted; good cause for expedited subpoena
Prima facie claim of copyright infringement	Alleged valid copyright ownership and unauthorized copying/distribution via BitTorrent	Not presented (ex parte)	Sufficient showing at this stage
Need for defendant's identity via ISP	No alternative means to identify/serve defendant; ISP is sole source	Not presented (ex parte)	Request is specific and necessary, given BitTorrent’s anonymity
Protective order for privacy	Agrees that defendant’s identity should remain confidential to prevent undue harm	Not presented (ex parte)	Granted; disclosure to plaintiff only, not public

Arista Records LLC v. Doe, 604 F.3d 110 (2d Cir. 2010) (privacy expectation for file-sharing is insufficient to avoid defending copyright claims)
Sony Music Entm’t Inc. v. Does 1-40, 326 F. Supp. 2d 556 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) (requirements for stating a prima facie copyright infringement claim)