Court of Appeal rules against tobacco companies' appeal on plain packaging

Further to our previous news on this subject ('ECJ upholds tobacco packaging rules'), the Court of Appeal ruled on 30 November 2016, rejecting several tobacco companies’ appeal against the introduction of plain packaging on tobacco products. This follows a ruling in May which determined that the law was valid and lawful in all respects’.

The new rules require al tobacco packaging to be olive green and include images showing the negative health consequences of smoking as a visual deterrent. The Court of Appeal had to deal with issues concerning the nature of the companies’ trade mark rights, the extent to which the relevant Regulations interfere with such rights and the lawfulness of any such interference. Another substantial area was that of proportionality.

There is the possibility of a further appeal to the Supreme Court.

The (largely legally technical) judgment can be found here: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2016/1182.html