Accessing the Other Side’s Computers? Imaging and Inspection Orders

In this article, Peter Linstead considers the use of applications for orders permitting a search of a defendant’s computers and electronic devices, including why they are useful and also their limitations.

Applications for orders permitting a search of a defendant’s computers and electronic devices are routinely sought in cases involving employee competition and claims based on the misappropriation of IP.  This is commonly at the outset of proceedings, in tandem with an interim injunction application. The High Court has been receptive to these applications in the last few years, to varying degrees.  This article considers the reasons for, and the limits of, these applications, including a recent pronouncement on the relevant principles by the Court of Appeal.

Peter’s article can be read here.

About the author

Peter Linstead, the author of this article, has recently published a book on employee competition: “Restraining Competition by Employees: A Practical Guide to Restrictive Covenants, Injunctions and Other Remedies” in which computer imaging and inspection orders are considered in more detail.

Ranked as a “leading junior” in UK Employment Law, Peter Linstead’s practice focuses on four main areas:

• commercial work, often relating to the termination of employment, including employee competition injunctions;
• all areas of mainstream employment and discrimination, at tribunal and appellate level;
• workplace stress and harassment claims in the civil courts; and
• litigation in the Dubai International Financial Centre courts (DIFC).

Find Out More

If you would like to discuss any of the issues covered in this article please contact Peter directly or via his practice management team; David Smith on (+44 (0)20 7427 4905) or Colin Bunyan on +44 (0)20 7427 4886 who would be happy to have a discussion in the strictest of confidence.

Legal Blogs 11 Mar, 2021