Preliminary injunction: implementation time of a prohibition order

Upon receipt of a preliminary injunction containing an obligation to cease and desist, all necessary measures must be taken immediately to comply with the obligation to cease and desist. Is the cessation of further broadcasts of a TV spot after 1.5 days sufficiently prompt, or does this constitute a culpable breach of the relevant cessation order? The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt a.M. commented on the implementation time in this regard.

A company was prohibited by means of a preliminary injunction from broadcasting a certain TV spot on several television stations. The injunction was not issued with a written reasoned decision and was provided with a comprehensive application document and attachments.

The company implemented the prohibition after 1.5 days and thus with delay. The applicant saw this as a violation of the court's prohibition and applied for the imposition of a contempt sanction.

The court's decision

The OLG Frankfurt a.M. found no violation of the prohibition injunction and refrained from imposing a fine for contempt. The reasoning wasJudgment of 23.06.2016 – Az. 6 W 60/16that the affected company must be permitted a certain time to review the order in order to understand the concrete scope of the prohibition.

In the concrete case, the Frankfurt judges considered a period of 1.5 days to be reasonable and proportionate, since the preliminary injunction was not provided with a reasoned decision. It therefore had to be interpreted on the basis of a comprehensive and substantively complex application document.

Conclusion

An obligation to cease and desist from a preliminary injunction must be taken seriously and complied with without delay. However, in individual cases, a certain implementation time to review the concrete scope of the prohibition may be necessary and appropriate.