Apreliminary injunction, inequity, is aninjunctionentered by acourtprior to a final determination of the merits of alegal case, inorder to restraina party from going ahead with a course of conduct or compelling a party to continue with a course of conduct until the case has been decided. If the case is decided against the party that has been enjoined, then the injunction will usually be madepermanent. If the case is decided in favor of the party that has been enjoined, the injunction will usually be dissolved ordismissed.In mostcourtsin theUnited States, the party seeking thepreliminary injunctionmust demonstrate all four things together:1. That there is a substantial likelihood ofsuccess on the meritsof the case,2. That they face a substantial threat ofirreparable damage or injuryif the injunction is not granted,3. The threat is immediate,4. That thebalance of harmsweighs in favor of the party seeking the preliminary injunction,5. There is no other available remedy,6. That the grant of an injunction would serve thepublic interest.The "balance of harms" refers to the threatened injury to the party seeking the preliminary injunction as compared to the harm that the other party may suffer from the injunction.The United States Supreme Court revisited the requirements for obtaining a preliminary injunction inWinter v. NRDiC, Inc., 555 U.S. 7 (2008).[1]The Court changed one requirement just slightly:"A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he islikely to suffer irreparable harmin the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest."