Tuesday, 03 March 2026 13:25

Oat Dear!

Written by  Milking It

OPINION: The UK dairy industry is celebrating a win after plant-based drink maker Oatly lost a long-running legal battle over its use of the word "milk" in its marketing.

The Swedish company tried to trademark the slogan "post-milk generation" in the UK in 2021 but Dairy UK, the representative body for British dairy farmers, objected.

After years of litigation in several courts, last month the UK Supreme Court said Oatly could neither trademark nor use the phrase "post-milk generation".

UK farmers argued under trademark law, the term "milk" can only be used to refer to products that come from an animal.

The Supreme Court ruled the phrase "post-milk generation" could confuse people over whether Oatly's products are completely milk-free or merely have a low milk content.

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