British oat milk producer Glebe Farm has today won the legal case brought against it by Swedish oat drink giant Oatly for trademark infringement following Glebe’s use of the brand PureOaty on their gluten-free oat milk.
At a court case in June, Oatly accused Glebe of infringing trademarks including the Oatly brand name and pack design, and of “passing off” the beverage as Oatly.
In today’s ruling, the judge dismissed all of Oatly’s claims.
Phillip Rayner, owner and Managing Director of Glebe Farm, commented: “We have had the threat of this court case – which has pitched our challenger brand against Oatly’s multinational business – looming over us for more than a year. We have always felt certain that we have done nothing wrong, and we were determined to fight Oatly’s claims that our brands were similar – something that is now proven to be wrong.
“You only need to look at the two products and packaging side by side to appreciate how different these brands are, and how unnecessary this legal action was.”
He added: “It is enormously gratifying that the judge has ruled in our favour, and to see that smaller independent companies can fight back and win.”
The court hearing in June examined wide-ranging aspects of alleged relevant intellectual property including choice of language and typefaces, the use of the colour blue and the detail of a coffee cup appearing on the PureOaty pack. Glebe Farm’s counsel took time to question the originality of Oatly’s ‘wackaging’ and expressed surprise at the paucity of evidence Oatly brought of any consumer confusion between the brands before heading to court.
Ultimately the judge found that there is no likelihood of confusion between the PureOaty name and look of the carton and any of the Oatly trademarks. Further, the judge ruled against Oatly’s allegation that Glebe Farm intended to gain some unfair advantage, and having reviewed all the evidence and contemporaneous documents he was fully satisfied that there was no intention as attributed by Oatly.
Rayner added: “There is room in a growing category for alternatives. We’d like to think growth opportunities come from positivity in broadening sector choice, rather than from trying to shut things down and limiting consumer options.
“All of us at Glebe Farm are excited to put this matter behind us now so we can focus our time on serving our loyal customers and the British public with pure, sustainable oats and oat milk without corporate lawsuits distracting from our day-to-day priorities.”
Since the final hearing, Oatly has made a statement on its website which says: “The court ruled in favour of Glebe Farm, the judge recognized Oatly’s strong brand and uniqueness but felt the similarities weren’t enough to rule in our favour.
“We’ve collected the main documents of the case for you to read as it was presented to the court. The reason is because we believe in transparency and we want you to be able to form your own opinion about the case.”
The documents added include Oatly’s judgement, Statements and Orders and each side’s argument.
Oatly, which has a market value of $15bn, is currently preparing to open a large production facility in the UK (Peterborough) to support its growth plans.
NAM Implications:
- A win, thankfully…
- …but a distraction, nonetheless.
