It has been reported that Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco have sued the UK government over standardised packaging proposals.
The proposed laws would provide for cigarettes to be sold in unbranded packaging from May 2017, following a transition period of one year. From 2016, health warnings will have to cover up to 65% of cigarette packs under EU law. The tobacco companies argue that this would be an infringement of their intellectual property (trade mark) rights, more specifically that the measures would amount to a deprivation of property in breach of UK and EU law.
The Times reports that Philip Morris plans to rely on a legal opinion drafted by Lord Hoffman, which argues that banning branding could be a breach of trade mark law, and that blocking an internationally recognised trade mark in the UK could breach free movement of goods within the EU. It is further reported that legal papers filed in the High Court hold that the regulations do not provide fair compensation for depriving Philip Morris of its property.
