Camden, NJ – There’s bad news coming for a New Jersey resident who has been illegally sharing adult films owned by Strike 3 Holdings on BitTorrent.
A federal judge has authorized a copyright infringement lawsuit to move forward by allowing a subpoena to identify the subscriber associated with a Comcast internet account allegedly used to distribute copyrighted content through BitTorrent.
According to an opinion and order filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Skahill granted Strike 3 Holdings, LLC permission to serve an early subpoena on Comcast before the parties conduct their required discovery conference.
Plaintiff seeks identity of anonymous internet subscriber
According to the complaint, Strike 3 Holdings alleges an unidentified defendant infringed its copyrighted works by using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing network. Court records state the company knows only the internet protocol address allegedly involved in the downloads—73.198.196.145—and does not know the subscriber’s identity.
According to the motion, Strike 3 argued it could not serve the defendant or continue the lawsuit without first obtaining the subscriber’s name and address from Comcast through a subpoena.
Court finds good cause for expedited discovery
According to the opinion, federal rules generally prohibit discovery before the parties hold a Rule 26(f) conference. However, judges may permit expedited discovery when the requesting party demonstrates good cause.
Judge Skahill found Strike 3 satisfied that standard, noting the subpoena is narrowly tailored to obtain only information necessary to identify the alleged subscriber and move the litigation forward.
The opinion also noted that the defendant has not yet been served and therefore did not oppose the request.
Comcast (operating as Xfinity) provides internet to a vast majority of New Jersey. It services extensive coverage across central, south, and northern NJ, covering major population centers like Jersey City, Newark, Edison, and Toms River.
What happens next
The ruling does not determine whether the Comcast subscriber committed copyright infringement or is legally responsible for any alleged file sharing. Instead, the order permits Strike 3 to subpoena Comcast for subscriber information associated with the IP address identified in the complaint.
Once the subscriber is identified, the plaintiff may seek to amend the case to identify the defendant by name and proceed with the litigation.
Why it matters
Strike 3 Holdings routinely files copyright infringement lawsuits across the country involving alleged BitTorrent downloads. Federal courts frequently require the company to obtain court approval before internet service providers disclose subscriber information tied to anonymous IP addresses.
Key Points
- A federal judge authorized Strike 3 Holdings to subpoena Comcast to identify an anonymous internet subscriber.
- According to the court order, the lawsuit alleges copyrighted works were shared through the BitTorrent file-sharing network.
- The ruling allows the case to proceed but does not determine whether the subscriber is liable for copyright infringement.
