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Take-Two Interactive immediately responded with a wave of takedown notices and a cluster of DMCA subpoenas at a federal court, aiming to hunt down whoever was behind the leak.
DMCA subpoenas are a special legal tool that allows rightsholders to request information from third parties, without first having to sue someone. In this case, the game company used it for a broad sweep, targeting thousands of Discord users.
TorrentFreak previously covered how that net also widened to Microsoft, X, and Google's YouTube. And in new filings, it appears that the investigation is moving forward.
On Friday, a day after Rockstar streamed its extended look at the game on Netflix, Take-Two went back to court. The company requested another subpoena targeted at Discord, but this time it asked to keep the details out of public view.
A Sealed Second Discord Subpoena
Take-Two's initial DMCA subpoena request was public. This allowed news outlets to dig through the entire demand and identify the three servers it named, including one tied to content creator DarkViperAU.
That request is still live today. According to Take-Two's latest statements, it was issued on August 21 and "promptly served on Discord," although the court's records don't list the clerk's issuance, as would typically be the case.
Notably, Discord's Ryan Rigney stated on X on August 24 that the company had "not yet been served with a subpoena from Take Two," adding that Discord intended to "evaluate the validity and scope before responding."
Not served
Whether that evaluation played any role in the second subpoena's more targeted request is unknown, but the sequence is worth highlighting.
The second subpoena Take-Two requested at the New York federal court is different. Instead of publicly listing the Discord targets, the game company requests the court to file it under seal. This means that the targets are completely blacked out.
Requested information
What we do know is that this second request is more narrowly targeted, focused on one additional Discord user and a previously identified user.
"Take-Two has identified one additional Discord user and obtained additional identifying information for a previously identified Discord user, as well as additional information concerning the community servers identified in its prior subpoena for which it now seeks more targeted information," the request reads.
"Rapidly Evolving" Investigation
According to Take-Two, the secrecy is warranted because filing the request in the open would benefit the alleged infringers.
The motion to seal argues that the subpoena attachment "reveals highly sensitive, confidential information about an ongoing investigation into copyright infringement and the misappropriation of Take-Two's confidential information."
Compromise
"Public disclosure of this information could compromise Take-Two's ongoing investigation and even tip off the alleged infringers as to the nature and progress of Take-Two's investigation and information Take-Two has gathered about the infringement," Take-Two writes.
Take-Two fears that the infringers (it uses plural here) could then destroy or conceal important evidence.
The company stresses that its investigation "is rapidly evolving and ongoing," which is also why the second subpoena seeks "different information" than the first.
For now, the new demands are hidden from view. The court has yet to rule on whether they will stay that way and the subpoena has not been issued yet.
YouTube Subpoena Dropped
The same "rapidly evolving" framing was also mentioned in a follow-up to Take-Two's YouTube subpoena, with the opposite result.
Take-Two had previously asked Google to identify the people behind three YouTube personas tied to a leaked video: CyberLeeks, Surfer24k, and CyberLeek_ar_io.
Judge John P. Cronan declined to sign off on the request without further information on how the targets are linked to the video. Take-Two did provide some additional details, but ultimately dropped the request, citing the evolving investigation and stating that it no longer needs the YouTube data.
"Take-Two has determined it no longer needs the particular information requested. Thus, Take-Two respectfully withdraws its subpoena request," it informs the court.
Take-Two reserves the right to return to Google with a new request later. For now, however, the YouTube subpoena is off the table, while the Discord demands become the focal point. Whether those will lead Take-Two to the infringers has yet to be seen.
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A copy of Take-Two's second Discord subpoena request and its motion to seal can be found here (pdf) and here (pdf). Take-Two's withdrawal of the Google subpoena is available here (pdf).
Judge Cronan's memo endorsement is available here (pdf).
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
