Injunctions Attorneys in Tulsa

Understanding How Injunctive Relief Can Help You

When a party harms you or your business, you want the offending action to cease and compensation for any damages caused. Sometimes, though, monetary reimbursement is insufficient in solving the problem. What you are really interested in is protecting your interests, and a fine or even criminal charge may not be enough in stopping the offending party from continuing a harmful practice. In these circumstances, you may want to seek an injunction, also known as injunctive relief, in addition to financial damages. 

At Enlow Law, our lawyers are seasoned litigators with ample experience and professional insight into whatever problem your company many be experiencing. Rest assured, we have the legal tools needed to help you accomplish your goals. We can help explore whether injunctive relief is the best means of solving your problem and protecting your interests.

Dial (918) 212-5359 or contact us online to speak to a member of our team today. 

When to Seek an Injunction

An injunction requires the cooperation of the court handling your company’s dispute. Injunctions are court-ordered and are not doled out lightly, meaning you will likely need to prove that there is a significant chance that the absence of an injunction could lead to further harm on your business.

The point of an injunction is to bar the offending party from continuing to undertake a certain harmful action, under threat of criminal penalty. A common scenario where injunctive relief makes sense for businesses is intellectual property theft. Say your business has a distinctive logo, one that is essential to your branding, that you have taken the time to properly trademark. You discover another company has stolen that logo and is using it to promote their business, which sells inferior products. Not only are they violating your trademark, they are doing damage to your company, as anyone who purchases the substandard product from the offending business will likely associate the mediocre product quality with your business as a result of their use of your logo.

In this case, you could argue to a court that injunctive relief is necessary. In addition to seeking monetary damages for their willful violation of your trademark and harm to your brand, you may argue that an injunction should be placed on their continuing to use the trademarked logo or any similar logo that might be confused with your business.

Another type of common intellectual property theft that may warrant injunctive relief is violated patents or stolen proprietary information. This type of issue appears frequently in disputes between tech and software companies. Your business might have developed a piece of proprietary, patented software that gives your service a competitive, distinguishing edge. However, another company has just introduced a similar service – one that not only appears so identical that it violates your patent but might indeed run on proprietary code plagiarized from your company. This of course represents a major threat and a violation of your business’s rights, so you may seek an injunction preventing the other company from continuing to offer their stolen service.

In these cases, obtaining a criminal injunction can be challenging, as the court is being asked to halt the sale of a product or service – possibly even the core product or service of the company – while the larger questions surrounding the case, like whether the service was built on stolen proprietary code, are litigated. This does not mean your business should not seek one, especially since the offending product or service is doing direct harm to your company, but you will likely need experienced Tulsa criminal injunction attorneys to help persuade the court.

The bottom line is you should consider seeking injunctive relief whenever another party’s actions are causing immediate harm to you. An injunction can prevent them from continuing with an offending action and in turn get your business immediate relief while the matter is litigated and other relief options and punitive measures are explored.

Fundamentally, Injunctions can be issued in any type of litigation area

Types of Injunctions

There are three types of injunctions that could be potentially useful to your business. Each applies to different types of scenarios and has varying durations. The scope of each injunction is defined by the court granting it. They include:

• Preliminary injunctions: Are used in situations where a dispute is in the process of being litigated, such as in a trial or lawsuit, but a party seeks immediate injunctive relief in advance of a verdict being reached. This can be commonly sought in the above scenario where a company is accused of offering a product or service that violates patents or is built on stolen proprietary information. It is also not commonly granted since, by definition, it is only used in matters that have not been formally decided in court. They are mostly granted in other types of criminal situations as a precautionary measure, such as in a domestic violence situation where imminent harm might result otherwise.
• Temporary Injunctions/“Temporary Restraining Orders” (“TRO”): Last for a set period of time determined by the court. This duration can be as brief as a few days up to a few weeks, but the intent is to stymie any additional immediate alleged harm from occurring.
• Permanent injunctions: They do not expire. These typically follow a preliminary or temporary injunction once a matter has been fully litigated and a verdict reached. Going back to the above example, should it be officially determined a company violated your patent, a court may grant a permanent injunction preventing the company from offering the offending service in addition to awarding monetary damages to your business.