Enforcement of an injunction: stages and deadlines
An injunction only matters once it is enforced. Between the court's order and the moment the other side actually stops the infringing act sits a short chain of formal steps: service, a compliance window, then compulsory enforcement if nothing changes. Skip a step, and the order stays a paper win.
What the order sets in motion
The order is self-contained. It names the bound party, the act to stop, and the deadline for compliance. Enforcement does not create new obligations — it puts the existing ones into effect. The deciding body stays the same throughout: the court, or the competent division of the Unified Patent Court, that issued the injunction in the first place.
Practical effect: where the risk shifts
Before service, the order has no bite on the other side's conduct. Once service is formally completed, the clock on voluntary compliance starts, and every day past the deadline stops looking like delay and starts looking like wilful non-compliance. That shift is the point of no return this page is built around: after it, the case moves from persuasion to compulsion, and the arguments available to the bound party narrow sharply.
The stages in sequence
Each stage has a distinct actor and a distinct failure point. The table sets out the usual order.
| Stage | What happens | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Order becomes enforceable | Any condition attached to the order — security, a suspensive appeal — is cleared or expires. | Court registry |
| Formal service | The order is delivered to the bound party by a method the court accepts as proof of delivery. | Bailiff or authorised process server |
| Voluntary compliance window | The bound party has the period stated in the order to stop the act. | Bound party |
| Compulsory enforcement | If the window lapses, the applicant seeks enforcement measures: seizure, a periodic penalty, or both. | Enforcement officer, on application |
| Sanction for non-compliance | The court sets or increases a penalty, or treats the breach as grounds for a separate claim. | Court, on a fresh application |
What to do
- Confirm the order is actually enforceable — check for a suspensive appeal or an unmet security condition first.
- Arrange formal service through a method the court will accept as proof, not an informal notice by email.
- Record the exact date of service. The compliance window runs from that date, not from the date the order was issued.
- Keep dated copies of every filing, service certificate, and reply the other side sends. For how we retain these files, see Retention: the report, the extracts and our copy step.
- File the enforcement application as soon as the deadline passes. Waiting weakens the argument that the breach was wilful.
- Where the other side operates through a corporate structure, identify the entity actually bound by the order, not just the named defendant.
Who decides
The court that granted the injunction usually keeps jurisdiction over enforcement disputes: whether service was valid, whether the window ran, and what sanction fits the breach. An enforcement officer carries out measures once they are ordered but does not rule on compliance disputes — those questions go back to the court.
Branching scenarios
If the other side appeals the underlying order, enforcement usually pauses only where the appeal itself carries suspensive effect. Confirm that before assuming a delay is automatic. If the other side restructures the business to sidestep the named entity, the enforcement application should target the successor, not the shell left behind. The same staged logic reaches well beyond patent files: in one situation, Industrial manufacturing a founder leaves with the prototype explained; in another, When the buyer of a token is not the registered owner, enforcement follows a comparable sequence of service, window, and compulsion.
What this page does not cover
This page sets out procedure only: the deciding body, the stages, and the deadlines that structure them. It does not calculate what enforcement is worth in financial terms — that step belongs to a separate process once infringement is established. It also does not cover asset tracing once enforcement crosses a border: confirming what a counterparty abroad actually holds sits in the product layer, not the legal one. See Counterparty in United States in practice for what that kind of check can establish.
Proven
Reviewed on 14 May 2025. This page describes procedure only and does not cite specific statutory articles or regulations — the deciding body and the deadline set by the order itself are the operative facts here.
Related publications
Once the injunction is enforced, the financial side of the same dispute usually follows a separate calculation: Damages quantification step by step sets out that process on its own.
FAQ
How long does enforcement of an injunction take in practice?
It depends on the compliance window the order itself sets and on whether the other side complies voluntarily. Service and the compliance window are usually the longest steps; compulsory enforcement, once triggered, tends to move faster because the underlying question — was there a breach — is already settled.
Which documents are needed to start?
The order itself, proof of formal service with a date, and a record of any communication with the bound party after service. If enforcement measures are sought, the application also needs evidence that the deadline passed without compliance.
What happens if the other side does not respond?
Silence after a validly served order and an expired deadline is treated as non-compliance, not as an open question. It clears the way to apply for compulsory enforcement measures without waiting for a reply that is not coming.
If a deadline in your own matter has already slipped, start here: What to do first in this situation.