Injunction
Disputes & Litigation

Injunctions are court orders requiring a person to do or refrain from doing specified acts. Injunctions are discretionary remedies, and awarded where damages at common law are in some way inadequate to do justice to the injured party in the particular litigation.

Injunction may be granted on an interlocutory (or interim) or perpetual (or final) basis in litigation. Injunctions are frequently used to enforce exclusive licensing arrangements granted under contract, to enforce obligations that are partly positive and partly negative covenants. There must be an obligation in negative form in order to obtain an injunction in respect to a contract. Injunctions are also available to prevent further publication of libellous (or defamtory) material, statements that damage a business, passing off, use of trade marks, groundless threats for alleged infringement of certain intellectual property rights, infringement of intellectual property rights (including copyright, designs, trade marks, patents and breaches of confidence) and trespass to goods.

In order to obtain an injunction, the claimant must prove that a legal right - whether it is property, a right or an interest - has been contravened or there is a real risk that a legal right will be infringed in the future by the defendant. In instances were special damage must be proven, such as slander, that damage must also be made out.

Interim and Perpetual Injunctions

Interim Injunctions

These injunctions may be granted to maintain the status quo between the parties leading up to the hearing of the dispute, where the dispute is heard and the rights of the parties in the litigation are to be judicially determined at a later date. Interim injunctions may also be awarded to assist the enforcement of rights. Such special interim injunctions are freezing orders ("a freezer") and search orders, which were historically called Mareva Injunctions and search orders respectively. Freezing orders and search orders have the same substantial effect respectively and require the claimant to justify to the court that in the circumstances of the litigation, they are justified on the balance of convenience.

Final Injunctions

Injunctions awarded 'in perpetuity' is a reference to the determination of the parties legal rights as opposed to any perpetual effect.

Mandatory and Prohibitive Injunctions

Mandatory injunctions require the defendant to take positive steps to reverse the effects of some wrongful act or to cease an ommission that causes the defendant damage. Injunctions that are prohibitory in nature to require the defendant to stop some wrongful conduct.

Discretion in awarding Injunctive Relief

Courts maintain a discretion to award injunctions. Simply because an injunction is not awarded does not mean that a defendant is relieved of liability, as the defendant will remain liable in damages provided the losses suffered are proved in the litigation.