Your Dedicated & Trusted Legal Team

Strike 3 Holdings LLC is a company that holds copyrights to pornographic films. It has filed copyright infringement lawsuits against individuals for illegally downloading their adult films produced under names such as Tushy, Blacked, Slayed, and Vixen. Copyright violation notification can come in the form of a letter from your internet service provider or a legal summons.

Being sued by Strike 3 Holdings LLC for illegally downloading pornography can be frightening and embarrassing. Fortunately, a skilled attorney can use a Strike 3 motion to quash to help you. This article will provide more information about Strike 3 Holdings, motions to quash, and alternatives for fighting Strike 3 subpoenas.

What Is Strike 3?

Strike 3 Holdings LLC is a company that owns the rights to various pornographic films. It uses a third-party software vendor to detect when people and companies illegally download its content. After the vendor notifies Strike 3 that someone has illegally downloaded its films, it sues the person’s internet service provider (ISP) to get them to reveal the identity of the person or company downloading the films. 

Once Strike 3 identifies the offender, it will sue them under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Under the Act, Strike 3 can demand up to $30,000 per illegal download for non-willful infringement, and up to $150,000 for intentional infringement. 

Strike 3 does not usually file criminal charges against defendants. However, Strike 3 does allege that you have committed the crime of copyright infringement and that they are filing civil lawsuits to seek monetary damages due to the infringement.

Can I Ignore Strike 3 Since It Is a “Copyright Troll”?

Many people have called Strike 3 a “copyright troll,” a company that makes money by enforcing copyrights through litigation. Strike 3’s methods are typical of copyright trolls and often resemble extortion schemes but in fact they are legal. Regardless of how people may feel about these practices, Strike 3 does pursue these claims and people who are being sued have the right to defend themselves.

Given the seriousness of such a claim, you should not ignore any communication from Strike 3 Holdings. Although many experts believe that the company wants to scare people into settling, Strike 3 is willing to take these matters to court.

What Is the Purpose of Strike 3 Subpoena?

Before Strike 3 can sue anyone, it must identify the entity downloading its films. The third-party vendor can tell Strike 3 which IP addresses are being used to download its content, but Strike 3 cannot obtain a judgment against an IP address — it can only recover money from a person or business entity. 

To identify the person or business behind the IP addresses, Strike 3 will go to court to serve a subpoena on the internet service provider associated with the IP address. A subpoena is a written order compelling an individual or company to give testimony about a particular subject. Failure to comply with a subpoena may be punishable as contempt.

If the court grants Strike 3’s application, Strike 3 will learn who the user(s) is, and sue them by amending the original complaint and serving a summons. Once the defendant (the person being sued) receives the summons, they may be offered a settlement. A settlement is an official agreement for resolving a conflict out of court that involves offering the plaintiff (the party bringing a legal action) money. 

Others may file pretrial motions to try and stop the subpoena so that their information is never revealed to the plaintiff. A pre-trial motion is an application to the court made by a defense attorney or prosecutor to make a decision about a certain issue before the trial starts.

Pre-Trial Motions That May Stop Strike 3 Subpoenas

Individuals may use the following pre-trial motions to stop Strike 3 subpoenas:

Motion to Quash

Per Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, you can file a motion to quash a subpoena. This is a written request to the court to change or stop the subpoena provisions entirely or partially. 

You can file a motion to quash in New Jersey and New York federal courts let you file motions for the following reasons:

• The subpoena was untimely
• The court lacks jurisdiction (i.e., the subpoena is invalid because you have no meaningful connection to the state where Strike 3 filed the lawsuit)
• You were not served properly
• Strike 3 is requesting privileged information (i.e., information that is legally protected so it does not have to be shown to the public)

At the hearing, your copyright infringement attorney will present your argument before a judge and Strike 3. Strike 3 will then present additional evidence and facts if needed. If the judge rules in your favor, they will modify or quash the subpoena.

Motion for Protective Order

A motion for protective order prevents your internet service provider from revealing your identity to Strike 3. If you choose to go this route, proceedings will continue against you as an anonymous defendant. You will also bear the burden of proving the following:

• That the court has good cause to enact your proposed order of protection against the subpoena
• That the order of the protection will expose you to unreasonable oppression, burden, annoyance, expenses, or embarrassment

Note that even if a judge rules in your favor, you will still have to defend your case at the pretrial or discovery stage of the lawsuit. However, you will be anonymous throughout the litigation or settlement process. Talk to Rosenblum Law’s experienced copyright infringement lawyers to learn more about your options. 

Alternatives for Fighting Strike 3 Holdings Subpoenas

Besides filing pre-trial motions, you can do one of the following:

Nothing

If you ignore Strike 3, you may have to pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages when Strike 3 obtains a default judgment against you. A default judgment is when an entity or person filing a lawsuit wins by default because the defendant failed to respond. Your name will also be tied to allegations of illegally downloading pornographic adult films in public court documents.

Go to Trial

If you go to trial, you will be named as a defendant in a lawsuit. Your attorney will weigh the costs versus benefits of defending your case in civil court or negotiating a settlement with Strike 3 Holdings.

If you proceed to court, your attorney may use the following defenses:

• The relevant statute of limitations (generally three years from the date of discovery) has expired.
• The pornographic movies did not download properly.
• Someone else was responsible for the downloads.
• The downloads were de minimis (i.e., minor).
• You were out of town during the downloads which demonstrates someone else was responsible.
• Strike 3’s geolocation technology was inaccurate and imprecise. As the defendant argued in Strike 3 Holdings, LLC v. Doe, 351 F. Supp. 3d 160, 162 (D.D.C. 2018), geolocation is flawed because:
  • Multiple people, including neighbors, guests, and roommates, share the same IP address
  • Onion routing (a technique for anonymous communication over a computer network) and virtual private networks can spoof IP addresses
  • Malware can crack passwords and open backdoors
  • Geolocation services may randomly assign addresses to a general location if they can’t specifically identify a specific location

Settle

Going to trial can be expensive and time-consuming. Accordingly, many defendants choose to settle to resolve the case quickly. Strike 3 may also prefer to settle so they can save on the costs of going to court.

If you decide to settle, your attorney will negotiate with Strike 3 to ensure you pay as little as possible. Contact a skilled copyright infringement lawyer from Rosenblum Law to learn more about the pros and cons of settling versus going to trial.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Finding a suitable copyright infringement lawyer for Strike 3 Holdings accusations can be daunting, especially if you’ve never been sued before. That’s where Rosenblum Law’s attorneys come in. We’ll guide you through our process to safeguard your identity and minimize the impact of any potential lawsuit. We can also help you determine whether you should file a motion to quash, file a motion for protective order, settle, or fight the accusations at trial. For a complimentary consultation on your case, please email Rosenblum Law or call 888-815-3694 today.