Energy giant Ineos has secured a High Court injunction prohibiting unlawful activities such as trespass or obstruction at its shale gas sites.
An interim injunction was granted until a full hearing in September, covering unlawful acts by campaigners opposed to fracking.
Ineos Shale is involved in exploratory work such as geological surveys in the East Midlands but not any hydraulic fracking.
A number of protest groups have been launched to fight fracking, while well-established organisations such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth also campaign against the technique of recovering gas and oil from shale rock.
The announcement is separate from legal action being threatened by Ineos against the National Trust so it can carry out a fracking survey on its land.
The company said it had been trying for almost a year to get permission for a seismic survey at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire.
Ineos said it has repeatedly tried to arrange a meeting, adding that the Trust refuses to speak to the company.
“If the National Trust refuses to change its position, Ineos will have no choice but to write to the Oil and Gas Authority, asking for permission to seek a court order enforcing its rights to carry out these surveys on National Trust land,” said a statement earlier this month.
The East Midlands is a key area for potential shale gas extraction and Ineos already has permission from landowners around the Trust’s park.
Ineos has made planning applications to test for shale gas in other parts of the UK, saying it was having “reasonable” conversations with residents, but one of their concerns was the threat of militant action.