Tobacco firms challenge plain packaging rulesFour of the world’s biggest tobacco firms have begun a legal challenge to the government’s new packaging rules, which will ban using logos or branding on tobacco products from May 2016.
Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International say it will unlawfully take away their trademark intellectual property, destroy valuable property rights and render products indistinguishable from each other.
Opening the case for the claimants, Japan Tobacco International’s barrister, David Anderson QC, told the High Court the companies “manufacture lawful products” used by 19% of the adult population and noted their sales contributed approximately £10bn in excise duty alone to the Exchequer.
