Oat drink manufacturers have been banned from using the word “milk” to advertise their products, the Supreme Court has ruled.
Five justices delivered a unanimous verdict on Wednesday, declaring Oatly’s trademarked slogan “Post Milk Generation” is invalid for use on oat-based food and beverages.
The dispute traces back to 2019, when Oatly first submitted its trademark application for “Post Milk Generation” to the UK’s Intellectual Property Office, with official registration following in April 2021.
Dairy UK swiftly challenged the trademark’s validity, and in January 2023, the IPO sided with the dairy industry, deeming the use of “milk” in this context to be deceptive.
Oatly mounted a successful challenge at the High Court in December 2023, where Mr Justice Richard Smith found the phrase did not purport to market products “as any particular product, let alone as milk”.
However, the Court of Appeal reversed this decision in November 2024, ruling the trademark failed to clearly describe a characteristic quality of the goods. This prompted Oatly’s final appeal to the Supreme Court.
The ruling carries significant consequences for the broader plant-based food sector in Britain.
Legal experts warn that terminology such as “oat milk” or “plant-based cheese” now presents heightened legal risk in the UK market.
The judges made a unanimous ruling
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Richard May, partner at Osborne Clarke, advised that companies should adopt clearly descriptive alternatives such as “oat drink” or “plant-based drink” to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
“Marketing teams will need to ensure that product names and campaign messaging do not stray into protected territory,” Mr May cautioned.
The judgment indicates UK regulators and courts will take a robust approach to what lawyers term “category borrowing” across regulated sectors.
Businesses building brands around legally defined product names should expect careful examination and plan their strategies accordingly.
The company was told it could no longer use the slogan
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General Manager for Oatly UK & Ireland Bryan Carroll stated: “We are deeply disappointed by today’s UK Supreme Court ruling.
“In our view, prohibiting the trademarking of the slogan ‘Post Milk Generation’ for use on our products in the UK is a way to stifle competition and is not in the interests of the British public.”
Mr Carroll added that the decision “creates unnecessary confusion and an uneven playing field for plant-based products that solely benefits Big Dairy”.
Chief executive at Dairy UK Judith Bryans said the ruling “helps ensure that long-established dairy terms continue to carry clear meaning for consumers, while allowing appropriate descriptors to be used where the law permits”.
The company has lost its case at the High Court
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In a ruling backed by Lords Hodge, Briggs and Stephens, Lords Hamblen and Burrows said: “We consider that it is far from clear that that trademark is describing any characteristic of the contested products.
“Rather, on its face, it is focused on describing the targeted consumers and, in particular, those younger consumers who may be said to belong to a generation for whom there are, in contrast to past generations, widespread concerns about the production and consumption of milk.
“Insofar as it is describing a characteristic quality of the product, it is doing so in an oblique and obscure way and is certainly not doing so ‘clearly’.”
Despite the setback, Oatly indicated it would continue using the slogan on merchandise and non-food items.
