Oatly Loses UK Trademark Dispute Against Glebe Farm
Glebe Farm, a family-run business based in Cambridgeshire, has won a legal battle against multi-million-pound plant milk manufacturer Oatly, which had accused Glebe Farm of trademark infringement.
Oatly, which is the world’s largest oat milk company, has been defeated at the High Court by Glebe Farm Foods based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Oatly had accused the family-run business of taking unfair advantage of its trademarks with a gluten-free plant drink called PureOaty. The multi-million-pound brand claimed that the drink’s name, as well as its packaging, infringed five of their brand’s trademarks. Oatly also accused Glebe Farm of “passing off” their products as Oatly’s.
However, a High Court judge ruled in favour of Glebe Farm, stating that he did not see any risk of injury to the distinctive character of Oatly’s brand. The judge said that there were some similarities between PureOaty’s initial packaging and Oatly’s packaging, such as the use of an irregular font for the product name and the use of the colour blue. Nonetheless, the judge said that these similarities were at a very general level.
Glebe Farm Foods, run by brother and sister team Philip and Rebecca Rayner, said the ruling was gratifying.
