If someone had trademarked the term “Milky Taste” 20 years ago, they’d be creaming it now (excuse the pun)! And this is why…
A trademark like that, tied to the distinctive sensory experience of dairy, would have been incredibly valuable today, especially with the growing demand for plant-based alternatives.
Oatly, the popular plant-based milk brand, recently faced a legal setback when the UK Court of Appeal rejected its attempt to trademark the term “milk” for its plant-based products. The court ruled that “milk” is a generic term for dairy products, making it unsuitable for trademark protection. As a result, Oatly’s bid to trademark “milk” was deemed invalid, illustrating the challenges plant-based brands face when competing with traditional dairy.
But here’s the interesting twist: unlike “milk,” the Plant-Based Trademark—a certification mark—has been designed specifically to give plant-based products their own identity. It avoids the issues that generic terms face by certifying products as authentically plant-based without the need for a broad or overly generic claim.
While traditional dairy terms like “milk” cannot be trademarked due to their universal use, the Plant-Based Trademark provides plant-based companies with a powerful way to protect their brand and build consumer trust. It’s a distinctive mark that assures buyers of the product’s quality and origin, making it more than just a label—it’s a seal of authenticity, backed by proper trademark registration.
So, while “milk” may be a common term that can’t function as a trademark, creating a unique certification mark, like the Plant-Based Trademark, is a smart way for brands to stand out and ensure their message is protected in the marketplace through trademark registration.
So… does this apply to your industry and if it does, speak to us to work out how you can get ahead of it with the right trademark advice.
Questions about this
Why can’t a common word like milk work as a trademark?
Because a trademark has to identify one business as the source of goods, and a generic term simply describes the goods themselves. Oatly ran into this in the UK courts when its attempt to use milk in a trademark for plant-based products was rejected, with milk treated as a generic term for dairy products. Words that everyone in a trade needs to describe what they sell are kept free for all traders to use.
Answered by Saad Ashraf, Marketing ManagerHow can plant-based brands stand out if they cannot own words like milk?
One route is a certification mark such as the Plant-Based Trademark, designed to give plant-based products their own identity. Rather than claiming a broad or generic term, it certifies products as authentically plant-based, which builds consumer trust and helps them stand out. More widely, a distinctive brand name of your own, properly registered, does a job that a common descriptive word never can.
Answered by Saad Ashraf, Marketing Manager
