Strike 3 Holdings, LLC is a company that creates adult film content, usually produced by Blacked, Tushy, Slayed, and Vixen.
Strike 3 Holdings is currently suing people throughout the United States, accusing them of downloading their porn content without the correct licensing (typically, people are being accused of illegally obtaining the content through BitTorrent sharing software).
Strike 3 Holdings has been filing such lawsuits for years. Here are five frequently asked questions.
Why am I receiving this notice from my internet provider and a company called Strike 3 Holdings?
Strike 3 Holdings is accusing you (or someone on your home or office internet connection) of illegally downloading their content. The notice is your internet provider (AT&T, Verizon Fios, Xfinity/Comcast, Cox, Spectrum, Mediacom, Astound Broadband, etc.) letting you know that Strike 3 Holdings is seeking your details so that they can sue you for copyright infringement.
How am I getting this notice if Strike 3 Holdings doesn’t know who I am?
Using various methods and technologies, Strike 3 Holdings was allegedly able to figure out your unique IP address and your internet provider. That’s enough information to file a lawsuit and ask a judge for permission to subpoena your internet provider for your name and address. The notice is your internet service provider telling you that your personal information is being requested.
Am I anonymous?
When you first receive your notification, you are likely still anonymous- the court and Strike 3 Holdings still know you as John Doe. You typically have 30 days or less from the day you receive the notice to decide how you want to handle your case.
What do I do now? Can I ignore Strike 3 Holdings?
Whether or not you did it, this is not something to ignore. If you ignore it, your internet provider will release your details to Strike 3 Holdings. In almost all cases, Strike 3 Holdings will amend the complaint name in the public court documents from ‘John Doe’ to your name. You will then be served with a court summons.
Under no circumstances should you ever ignore a court summons.
Losing your anonymity may not bother you, however, once you receive a summons. your options moving forward are more limited and you lose some of your negotiating power.
Is there a typical Strike 3 Holdings settlement amount?
Typically, Strike 3 Holdings requests roughly $750 per movie downloaded, however, the maximum amount requested by Strike 3 tends to be about $50,000.
When we negotiate for our clients, the settlement amount varies greatly and depends on several factors. Average settlements tend to range from under $100/movie to approximately $500/movie. We’ve also been able to prove financial hardship and get a settlement all the way down to $250 total, so it really is case specific.