Supreme Court bars Oatly from using ‘milk’ in its branding

The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed an appeal by Swedish plant-based drinks manufacturer Oatly to use the phrase “Post Milk Generation” as a trademark for its products, due to the inclusion of the word “milk”.

The court ruled that the phrase “Post Milk Generation” uses the term milk as a designation, and does not clearly describe a characteristic quality of oat-based food and drink products.

This is the latest ruling in a long-running dispute between Dairy UK and Oatly.

See also: Oatly to scrap its UK vegan drink factory plans

Oatly first filed a trademark application for the term “Post Milk Generation” with the Intellectual Property Office in 2019 and registered it in April 2021.

Dairy UK then filed an application declaring that the trademark had been invalidly registered later that year.

A decision was subsequently made in the Court of Appeal in 2024, banning the use of the word “milk” in Oatly’s marketing of its oat-based drinks in the UK.

After losing in the Court of Appeal, Oatly appealed to the Supreme Court, which this week found against Oatly.

Dairy UK chief executive Dr Judith Bryans said: “This ruling is an important decision for the sector as it finally provides clarity on how dairy terms can – and cannot – be used in branding and marketing.

“It brings greater certainty for businesses and 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.”

Meanwhile, Oatly’s UK general manager, Bryan Carroll, stated that the decision would create unnecessary confusion and create an uneven playing field for plant-based products to the benefit of the dairy sector.

Kirsten Gilbert, partner at intellectual property firm Marks & Clerk, added: “The result of this is that the term ‘milk’ cannot be used, or incorporated into trademarks in the UK for anything other than dairy products as defined within this regulation.”

Ms Gilbert added: “If your products are not dairy products, you will not be able to use the term milk in relation to your products.

“If you are in the dairy sector this is another tool that can be used against the non-dairy alternative sector when opposing trademark applications and the use of trademarks that contain the word milk.”