1) Identify the legal term for the action being taken against your client.
In order to research a legal subject properly, it is essential to identify not only the terminology associated with a broad legal subject, but first to identify the legal concept itself.
In this example, the client has been served with search orders administered by solicitors for the claimant and a supervising solicitor. There is no police involvement. In order to research the law in this area we must first find the correct term for this procedure.
Using a standard search engine would be difficult because we do not yet have the specific vocabulary needed to formulate a good search query. Instead, a graphical search engine may be useful as they allow you to identify relationships between concepts you have identified, for example supervising solicitor and search order.
Using the UJIKO search engine (www.ujiko.com), enter the following search query:
“supervising solicitor” “search order”
Note the set of themes that have appeared in the centre of the screen. Do any of these look useful? The term anton piller order looks promising, as it could be the name of a legal action. Clicking on it refines the search and adds anton piller order to your original search query.
Now run the mouse pointer over the six links on the left-hand menu and compare the different thumbshots. Which websites seem the most useful? Use these links to find out if the Anton Piller Order is in fact the action being carried out against your client.
Thumbshots
Thumbshots (also known as thumbnails) are screenshots of online documents which help you to preview a link before clicking on it. Because the thumbshot helps you visualise the website, it is often very helpful in identifying content and layout. Thumbshots and similar visual aids are becoming ever more popular features of search tools.
Answer
The correct term is an Anton Piller Order.
The courts have power to issue a form of civil search warrant called a Search Order. This type of order was previously developed by the courts and is known as an Anton Piller Order – based on the title of a case of the same name. Authority to grant a Search Order is now contained in statute – Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act 1997.
A Search Order is a form of injunction which requires a party to permit entry for certain persons to property in order to conduct a search for, and if necessary to seize, evidence. Such orders are often made in cases involving pirate goods, such as unauthorised video copies of popular films. These are usually applied for and obtained from the court without notice to the person who is intended to be the subject of the order, in order to ensure that there is no prospect of evidence being removed or destroyed before the search can take place. However, a Search Order can be issued in any case where the court is persuaded that the defendant is the sort of person who might destroy relevant evidence in his or her possession if the order is not made.
For more details, see:
http://www.yourrights.org.uk/your-rights/chapters/ the-right-to-privacy/
power-of-officials-to-enter-your-home/search_orders.shtml
2) Does such a procedure exist in the EU other than in the UK?
Once the term Anton Piller Order has been identified, you can continue to use www.ujiko.com to further refine your search to answer questions 2 and 3.
Alternatively, you could try an answer engine such as Answers.com (www.answers.com). Answer engines are designed to find answers to questions, and provide links to many authoritative sources.
Answers.com has a number of useful functions for basic research, particularly for finding information about terms.
In order to explore where an Anton Piller Order will apply, go to Answers.com and enter the following search query:
Anton Piller “outside the UK”
At the end of the search bar you will see a button marked Go. If you click on the downwards pointing black triangle to the right of the Go button, you can limit your search to: Answers, Web, Shopping, Images, News and Blogs.
Click on Go, and scroll down to see if there are any references to Anton Piller Orders being available outside the UK.
Several of the hits return phrases such as “unknown outside the UK”. This might suggest that Anton Piller Orders (or similar) are not available outside the UK, but in order to be certain we need to research further.
Click on the link to the IP Enforcement Directive – Update 25/02/04.
The text on this page reads:
“As expected, the proposed text for the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) was nodded through by the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee without a vote on Monday afternoon.
The Directive is now scheduled to be debated by the full Parliament on Monday 8 March, and voted on (with amendments possible) on Tuesday 9 March, ready to be approved by ministers on Thursday 11 March.”
From this we learn that an EU-wide Anton Piller style directive, the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) was due to be approved by ministers on 11 March 2004. However, we do not know for certain that the directive was passed. To do so, we need to consult a reliable news source.
Go to the BBC news website (http://news.bbc.co.uk). Type the following search query into the search bar at the top right hand corner of the screen and click search:
Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive
The resulting news items will provide an answer for question 2.
Answer
Yes.
According to the BBC news website, the European Parliament has passed an anti-piracy law, covering everything from handbags to music downloads. Under the law, counterfeiters could face civil penalties, but proposals for criminal sanctions were dropped.
The directive allows companies to raid homes, seize property and ask courts to freeze bank accounts to protect trademarks or intellectual property they believe are being abused or stolen.
For more information, see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3545839.stm
3) Does such a procedure exist in Australia?
Using the Answers.com search engine, enter the following search query:
Anton Piller Order Australia
Scan through the resulting links to find an answer to question 3.
Research tip: Answers.com
Answers.com offers an extremely valuable tool which is particularly useful for researching both language and concepts: 1-Click Answers. On the start page of Answers.com there is a button to download 1-Click Answers.
This free software allows you to click on any word appearing on your computer screen and will then immediately link you to an Answers.com page containing dictionary definitions, encyclopaedic entries, etc. of the word or concept.
For example, clicking on Anton Piller on this page would provide a discussion of Anton Piller Orders from Wikipedia, references, links to other topics in which Anton Piller Orders are mentioned, etc.
1 Click Answers could save you valuable time when researching legal English terms and concepts.
Answer
Yes.
An Anton Piller Order was used in 2004 to raid the Australian offices of Sharman Networks.
For more information, see:
http://www.answers.com/topic/sharman-networks
Please enter your username or e-mail address.
You will receive a new password via e-mail.
[...] – creditor (solution)Employment law (solution)Fundamental changes in a company (solution)Intellectual property (solution)Negotiable instruments (solution)Real property law (solution)Sale of goods (solution)Secured [...]