Swedish oat milk Oatly has lost a long-running legal dispute against Dairy UK, ultimately banning the use of dairy descriptors on all plant-based products in the UK.
The Court of Appeal in London ruled that Oatly cannot use the phrase “Post Milk Generation” in its branding as it violates both British and EU regulations.
The EU’s 2013 regulations prohibit the use of dairy-related terms in the marketing of non-dairy products.
General Manager for Oatly UK and Ireland Bryan Carroll said: “Be under no illusion that making it harder to label and find dairy alternatives benefits the interest of Big Dairy and Big Dairy alone.”
Five-year legal battle
The legal dispute began in 2019 when Oatly attempted to trademark the slogan “Post Milk Generation” with the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
Oatly registered the slogan to be used across all their products – food, beverages and clothing alike.
Dairy UK, a trade association representing dairy producers, contested the trademark on the grounds that the word “milk” offended regulations and misled consumers.
The IPO allowed the oat milk company to use the trademark, but only on their clothing items.
This decision was successfully appealed by Oatly last December when a High Court ruled that Dairy UK’s concerns about consumer confusion was unfounded.
However, the Court of Appeal has now sided with Dairy UK, prohibiting dairy descriptors in the marketing of non-dairy products on the UK market.
“An uneven playing field”
Because court rulings are binding on all lower courts, this decision will impact the whole dairy alternatives industry.
Carroll said: “Their (Big Dairy) cynical attempts to stifle the competition through legal action contradicts the interest of the British consumer, creates an uneven playing field for plant-based products and worst of all: it delays the progress in shifting the public towards more sustainable diets.
“We will always stand up for what is right, and we are considering our options.”
Marisa Heath, chief executive of the Plant-based Food Alliance UK – a coalition of organisations in the UK’s plant-based food and drink industry, which Oatly is a member of – doesn’t see the court’s decision as being in the consumers’ best interest.
She said: “The term ‘dairy designation’ clearly has too wide an interpretation and Oatly are not calling themselves milk – they are saying they are ‘post milk’.
“I think this is a waste of time and we should be focusing on producing better and more sustainable food to tackle to issues facing us globally around climate change and health.”
CEO of ProVeg International Jasmijn de Boo said that “several studies show that consumers are not being misled by the use of the term ‘milk’ for plant-based milks”.
Dairy UK “delighted”
Unsurprisingly, Dairy UK said they were “delighted” with the outcome.
Dr Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK, said: “This unanimous decision reinstates the Intellectual Property Office’s original decision, which declared the trade mark invalid for oat-based products.
“This ruling clarifies the legal protection of dairy terms, according to which the term ‘milk’ is reserved for dairy milk, except in defined circumstances.
“At the heart of the legal matter was whether these rules extend to trade marks, and the Court of Appeal has now confirmed this to be the case.”
Feature image credit: Leon Seibert via Unsplash
