The deposit of a sum of money or an insurance policy to protect a third party. In intellectual property litigation when interim relief (i.e., a preliminary, temporary or interlocutory injunction, i.e., a court order usually made against a defendant before the case is complete) is granted, the party obtaining the preliminary relief may be required to “post” a bond to ensure that if the case ultimately goes in favor of the other enjoined party, funds will be present to compensate that other party for any damages that the interim relief caused.
Bonds can be large sums of money and therefore can make obtaining interim relief economically prohibitive and impossible as a practical rule for small plaintiffs. In some cases bonds may be purchased from specialist insurers by the party required to post security. See Equitable Remedy.