Meaning
An urgent court order is issued by a people’s court in China before a formal lawsuit is filed to compel a party to perform or refrain from performing a specific action. Utilizing a pre-litigation act injunction is a specialized procedural tool designed to prevent immediate and irreparable harm to the intellectual property or commercial rights of the applicant. This emergency measure is typically sought in cases of patent infringement or trademark counterfeiting.
Judicial Standard
The applicant must demonstrate that the ongoing action will cause severe damage to their business that cannot be remedied by financial compensation later. Courts also evaluate the balance of interests to ensure the injunction does not cause disproportionate harm to the respondent.
Bond Requirement
Judges always require the applicant to provide a substantial financial guarantee, such as cash or a bank letter of credit, to cover potential damages to the respondent if the injunction is later found to be incorrect. Once the court receives the bond and approves the application, it must issue its ruling within forty-eight hours. The ruling must be executed immediately by the parties upon receipt.
The applicant must then file a formal lawsuit within thirty days to prevent the injunction from automatically dissolving.
Remedy Defense
The respondent cannot appeal the injunction to suspend its execution, but they can apply for a single administrative review by the same court. This review must be completed quickly to minimize the disruption to ongoing business operations.
