A springboard injunction is a specific type of court order issued under English and Welsh law, which is typically used to prevent a former employee from misusing their former employer's confidential information.
[3][4] The classic, albeit very wide, definition of the springboard injunction was given by Roxburgh J in Terrapin Ltd v Builders' Supply Co (Hayes) Ltd [1967] RPC 375,[5] namely that it is an injunction whereby a party is: "placed under a special disability in the field of competition in order to ensure that he does not get an unfair start".
[6] Unlike other forms of injunction, its purpose is to prevent a person gaining an unfair advantage as a result of earlier unlawful activity, not preventing future unlawful activity.
however the springboard injunction has been confined to cases where former employees threaten to abuse confidential information acquired during the currency of their employment.
In an employment context a leading case is that of Roger Bullivant v. Ellis,[8] which arose because Mr Ellis, Bullivant’s managing director, had taken confidential information with him when he left the company to set up a rival business.