Anton Piller KG v. Manufacturing Processes Ltd

[1976] Chancery 55Court of Appeal (England)1976Intellectual Property Law

Rule established

Court may grant an ex parte order permitting the plaintiff to enter the defendant's premises to inspect and remove documents/articles that constitute evidence of infringement, where there is a real risk of destruction of evidence. This is the "Anton Piller Order" (now called a "search order").

Facts

Anton Piller KG manufactured frequency converters for computers
Their UK agents (Manufacturing Processes Ltd) were secretly supplying confidential drawings to competitors
Plaintiff feared documents would be destroyed if proceedings were notified in advance
Applied ex parte for inspection and seizure order

Issue

Whether the court has jurisdiction to grant an ex parte order permitting entry into defendant's premises to preserve evidence of IP infringement.

Held

Court has inherent jurisdiction to make such orders in extreme cases
Three conditions must be satisfied:
An extremely strong prima facie case
Very serious damage (actual or potential) to the applicant
Clear evidence the defendant possesses incriminating material and a real possibility it will be destroyed

Ratio Decidendi

The court has inherent jurisdiction to grant ex parte orders for inspection and preservation of evidence where the plaintiff demonstrates an overwhelming case, serious harm, and a real risk of evidence destruction. The order is permissive (not a search warrant); the defendant may refuse entry but faces contempt proceedings.

How to use it in an exam

Named remedy in all IP subjects (copyright, trademark, patent, design)
Often asked as Part A (short note: "Anton Piller Order")
Key line: "In Anton Piller KG v. Manufacturing Processes (1976), the Court of Appeal established that an ex parte search order may be granted where there is an extremely strong prima facie case, serious potential damage, and real risk of evidence destruction."

Source

Source: [1976] Ch 55

This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.