In a new ruling, the UK Supreme Court has banned Oatly from using the word “milk” to market its oat-based products.
The UK’s highest court unanimously ruled on Wednesday 11 February that the Swedish company can no longer use the slogan “Post Milk Generation”, as according to Dairy UK the term milk is only limited to animal products.
With this ruling, it is clear that the vegan food manufacturers cannot use a term like “oat milk.”
Instead, they will use “oat drink” or “plant-based drink” on packaging and in marketing.
However, this ruling is being criticized by Bryan Caroll, Oatly’s general manager in the UK and Ireland, who stated that “this decision creates unnecessary confusion and an uneven playing field for plant-based products that solely benefits Big Dairy.”
He accused regulators of “stifling competition” against the interests of the British public.
The case dates back to 2021, when Oatly began trademarking the “Post Milk Generation”.
This was protested by Dairy UK, who argued that the term breached laws protecting dairy terms.
After a legal battle at the IPO, the High Court and the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court finally gave its verdict.
Court(s) ruled that the term “milk” was used descriptively of a food product and did not qualify for exceptions allowing terms denoting “characteristic quality.”
The slogan, they found, described the consumers, not the product itself.
Legal experts say the ruling creates increased risk for any plant-based brand that borrows dairy terminology.
