Dairy UK v Oatly: Court of Appeal rules POST MILK GENERATION invalid for oat products

What happened

Oatly registered POST MILK GENERATION as a UK trademark, covering t-shirts and a range of oat-based food and drink products. Dairy UK, the trade body for the UK dairy industry, applied to invalidate the mark. It argued that using the word "milk" on non-dairy goods breached retained EU rules under the Agricultural Products Regulation, which reserve dairy terminology for genuine milk products, and that the mark was also deceptive. The trademark office's hearing officer agreed as to the food and drink classes. The High Court later overturned that decision, holding that the rules only stopped generic product descriptions using "milk", not a registered trademark.

What did the court decide in Dairy UK v Oatly AB?

The Court of Appeal disagreed with the High Court and reinstated the hearing officer's original decision. It held that the word "designation" in the retained EU Regulation is broad enough to include a trademark, or part of one, so Oatly couldn't use "milk" within POST MILK GENERATION for its oat-based goods regardless of the mark's trademark status. The court also rejected Oatly's backup argument that the phrase fell within an exception for describing a "characteristic quality" of the product, finding instead that it described a group of consumers rather than any quality of the goods themselves.

What we learned from this

• What I'd take from this is that registering a word as a trademark doesn't exempt it from other rules that restrict how that word can be used commercially. Oatly held a valid trademark registration, but that didn't override the separate marketing restriction on dairy terms.
• If your product name or slogan uses a legally reserved term (like 'milk', 'cream', 'butter' or 'cheese'), check the marketing rules for that term before you build a brand around it, not after.
• A trademark registration and a right to actually use that wording in trade are two different things. Winning on one doesn't guarantee the other.
• Arguments that a term describes a 'characteristic quality' of a product need to focus on the product itself, not on the customers it's aimed at.

Things to be aware of

The businesses involved

What happened next

• Oatly pursued a further appeal to the Supreme Court, which heard the case as Dairy UK Ltd v Oatly AB.Source: UK Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court went on to rule unanimously against Oatly, holding it could not use the POST MILK GENERATION trademark for its oat-based products.Source: Food Ingredients First, February 2026
• Following the Supreme Court ruling, Dairy UK's chief executive said the organisation welcomed the outcome, according to the BBC.Source: Bbc, February 2026
• FoodNavigator reported that commentators characterised the Supreme Court outcome as a significant win for the dairy industry.Source: Foodnavigator, February 2026
• The Guardian reported that the ruling means Oatly is banned from using the word 'milk' to market its plant-based products in the UK.Source: The Guardian, February 2026

What others said about it

• Fieldfisher noted the Supreme Court's ruling invalidated the POST MILK GENERATION mark for oat-based products, confirming the wider restriction on dairy terms.Source: Fieldfisher, February 2026
• Morgan Lewis said the Supreme Court decision affirms that dairy-related terms are exclusively reserved for milk-based products.Source: Morgan Lewis, February 2026
• Wolters Kluwer's Trademark Blog called it the final decision in a four-year dispute, with the Supreme Court siding with Dairy UK.Source: Legalblogs, March 2026
• Osborne Clarke pointed out the mark failed specifically because of a breach of EU-derived law on reserved dairy terminology.Source: Osborne Clarke, February 2026
• AGDAILY reported the practical outcome plainly: the ruling stops Oatly using 'milk' in its trademark for oat-based foods and drinks.Source: AGDAILY, February 2026