Oatly Defeats Absurd Trademark Opposition In UK Over Using The Word ‘Milk’
from the mammary-secretions dept
We’ve posted about Swedish oat milk maker Oatly several times here at Techdirt and never for good reasons. The company has a reputation as a trademark bully and abuser, starting with its failed attempt to lock out rival companies from using the word “oat”, even though that is a product descriptor, as well as its attempt to lock up the generic word “barista” in Australia.
But the fact that Oatly has been on our naughty list in the past doesn’t change the simple fact that its recent victory over dairy trade group Dairy UK is the good and proper outcome. At issue was a trademark application Oatly put in for its slogan, “Post Milk Generation.”
Oat milk brand Oatly is known for its extravagant messaging and eye-catching packages. The Swedish company registered the slogan “Post Milk Generation” in 2019.
However, Dairy UK, the trade association of the British dairy industry, soon challenged the trademark. It argued that the term could not be used “in relation to products that are not mammary secretions.”
That argument came from a UK regulation from 2013 restricting companies from describing products as “milk” if the product was not literal milk, hence the amazing “mammary secretions” requirement. The opposition failed, though it took four years to reach that conclusion. Oatly correctly and successfully argued that its slogan wasn’t describing its product at all, but instead referred to the type of folks that would buy oat milk, the post-milk generation.
However, lawyers for Oatly successfully argued that “Post Milk Generation” does not breach the regulation because it describes the likely consumer rather than the product.
Justice Richard Smith rejected Dairy UK’s claims that Oatly’s use of the term could cause confusion. Instead, he ruled that Oatly’s slogan makes it clear that the products are “for consumers who no longer consume dairy milk.”
And it’s a good slogan, as more and more people turn away from traditional dairy sources for milk and instead embrace plant-based “milks.” There are all kinds of health and environmental reasons for doing this, with the growth of the movement creating, you know, a post-milk generation of customers.
Honestly, the only surprising part of this ruling is that it took four years to get here.
Filed Under: dairy uk, milk, oat milk, post milk generation, trademark, uk
Companies: oatly
Comments on “Oatly Defeats Absurd Trademark Opposition In UK Over Using The Word ‘Milk’”
Its all milk
The irony is that all plant based milk should be called milk. Back in the Middle Ages almond milk was more common than dairy milk, and went by that name. It was safer to drink and lasted longer.
The rule that only dairy milk ( it even has its own descriptor) is allowed to be called milk is a result of lobbying by the dairy industry.
Re:
Yes, it looks like milk, it pours like milk, it taste (pretty much, depending of the milk) like milk, it’s drunk like milk, it’s even better than milk (less fat, often with more calcium and D vitamin added, way less CO2 emissions, just cook then mix your rice to get some rice “milk”…), but it’s only some “organic drink”.
Now, diary is a $900B market in US, still expanding, there is much greed to stop forcing people drinking it because “it good for growth”.
Re:
coconut milk has been around for a long time too. the idea that “milk” can’t refer to plant milks is definitely absurd, glad it lost
Re: That's a bold claim
Please can you provide a source for your statement that almond milk was more common than dairy milk in the middle ages…
Re: Re:
Ever heard of a dude named Pasteur? Anyone consuming dairy milk before pasteurization ran the risk of getting really sick which is why most of it was made into cheese or butter.
So when almond milk was invented in the middle ages it was far more common than dairy milk, for cooking or consumption.
It’s quite easy to find this information on the net, just search for “almond milk middle ages”.
Re: Re: Re:
You keep saying it was more common, but I can’t find a single reference that indicates it was common…let alone preferential to cow milk. In fact, it appears that was an exclusive a delicacy of the rich and almost entirely driven by religion.
So, TLDR: fucking wut?
Re: Re: Re:2
Let me put it this way: Nobody bought and drank dairy milk because it made you sick.
Re: Re: Re:3
Still no source!
Re: Re: Re:4
Sigh.
Looking up r/askhistorians, apparently, plant-based milks (really, just crushed nut juice) have a fair bit of historys.
Soy milk, for example, was mentioned in Chinese texts in the 14th century. I believe you have heard of tofu. Three guesses as to where does tofu come from.
Almond Milk, or more accurately, a recipe for almond milk, was first recorded in the 14th century as well, in The Forme of Cury. I suppose this is why Mamba said it was a delicacy for the rich, seeing as the richbwere the only people who could afford to write books in the medieval ages…
Coconut milk’s first mention was also in the 14th century, theough the writings of ibn Battuta.
It isn’t a source for plant-based milks being drunk by peasants, that’s for sure. In fact, it’s hard to say whether plant milks were actually drunk by the peasantry at all, since we don’t have a lot of evidence for that.
Re: Re: Re:4
Wikipedia:
Re: Re: Re:5
So, it agrees with what we’ve been saying. The rich used almond milk as a store, where as the rest of the population got fresh milk from things like goats, sheep, and cow.
Congratulations.
Re: Re: Re:6
Does it really? Let me re-iterate: Plain fresh milk was not consumed by adults except the poor or sick, and was usually reserved for the very young or elderly. Poor adults would sometimes drink buttermilk or whey or milk that was soured or watered down.
Re: Re: Re:7
Fucking Christ:
You are aware that there were significantly more poor households than upper class, right? Just the context of how and where almond milk is produced should should indicate that “almond milk was more common than dairy milk doesn’t pass even the sniff teat.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/people-went-crazy-for-almond-milk-in-the-middle-ages
I always pour Post Milk over my Post Toasties
How do you milk an oat?
Re:
How do you milk a magnesia?
Re: Re:
Mix it with orange juice and vodka and you get a Philips screwdriver
Re:
How do you milk a joke?
Re: Re:
Practice!
Re: How do you milk an oat?
You use a very low stool.
-@teaandrobots
That's a bold claim
Please can you provide a source for your statement that almond milk was more common than dairy milk in the middle ages…
Next up: Dairy UK files suits against anyone using the term shellac or lacquer because beetles don’t have mammary glands, and lots of it isn’t even made from beetles.
Meanwhile, i’ll be thinking of all the ways one could parse “post milk generation”.
Yes… an udder failure.
I’m torn on this one. On the one hand obviously the facts were in favor of Oatly. On the other hand I can never side with companies that name themselves after made up adverbs.
The Dairy UK argument looks to have been a stretch too far – perhaps taking its cue from US cases. It appears (IANAL) that the labelling regulation with the “mammary secretions” text concerns the ingredients list, not any marketing. The labelling requirement has came about after a number of high profile cases of allergic reaction causing death. I fully expect that Oatly and other similar products have the source nut listed in the ingredients, not milk.
Why This Case Took Four Years
This case dragged on because, obviously, the lawyers were milking it for all that it was worth.
New Zealand is not Australia