Anton Piller order

Ex-parte court injunction that requires a defendant to allow the plaintiff to (1) enter defendant's premises, (2) search for and take away any material evidence and, (3) force the defendant to answer some questions. Employed usually in cases of possible copyright violation, its primary objective is to prevent destruction or removal of evidence. This order is not a search warrant, but the defendant is in contempt of court if he or she refuses to comply. Named after the 1976 UK case of 'Anton Piller KG v. Manufacturing Processes.' Nowadays called search order.