Plant-based drinks maker Oatly has lost a long-running legal fight over its use of the word “milk” in marketing, after the UK Supreme Court ruled that it cannot trademark or use the slogan “post-milk generation” in connection with dairy alternatives.

The case, brought by Dairy UK, centred on whether the term “milk”, which is protected under EU-derived food labelling rules still in force in the UK, can be used in a trade mark for plant-based products.

On Wednesday, the UK Supreme Court upheld an earlier Court of Appeal ruling that “milk” is a reserved term that can only refer to animal-derived products. Judges said the phrase “post-milk generation” could confuse consumers about whether Oatly’s products were entirely milk-free or merely contained reduced levels of dairy.

The decision reinstates the original position of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), which had refused Oatly’s 2021 trade mark application.

Oatly’s UK and Ireland general manager, Bryan Carroll, criticised the outcome, calling it “a way to stifle competition” that creates “an uneven playing field for plant-based products that solely benefits Big Dairy”.

Under the ruling, Oatly must cancel its UK trade mark registration for “POST MILK GENERATION” and cannot use the phrase to market dairy-free alternatives. However, because the regulation applies only to food products, the company is still permitted to sell pre-existing merchandise such as T-shirts bearing the slogan.

The dispute reflects a broader regulatory framework under which certain food designations, including milk, cheese, butter and yoghurt, are legally reserved for animal-derived products. Although the UK has left the EU, the relevant regulation continues to apply as “assimilated law”.

Richard May, partner at law firm Osborne Clarke, said the ruling confirms the UK’s alignment with EU standards. “The key principle is straightforward: if a product is not derived from animal milk, it cannot be marketed using reserved dairy designations such as ‘milk’ or ‘cheese’,” he said.

Laurie Bray, senior associate and trade mark attorney at Withers & Rogers, said the judgment was decisive. “It has taken the highest court in the land to decide once and for all whether a plant-based milk alternative can be branded as ‘milk’. The outcome is not what Oatly was hoping for,” she said.

Bray added that the ruling may prompt Dairy UK or its European counterparts to challenge Oatly’s EU trade mark registrations covering similar wording.

The case comes amid growing debate across Europe over the labelling of plant-based foods. Last year, the European Parliament voted to tighten rules on the use of terms such as “oat milk” and “veggie burger”, although the measures have yet to be formally adopted.

European farming groups argue that such terms mislead consumers and dilute established product definitions. Environmental campaigners and alternative protein producers, by contrast, have warned that overly restrictive labelling harms innovation and sustainability goals.

For UK plant-based brands, the Supreme Court’s decision sends a clear signal. While factual descriptors such as “dairy-free” remain permissible, the use of protected dairy terminology in branding or trade marks is likely to face legal challenge.

The ruling marks the end of a protracted dispute for Oatly, and underscores how regulatory definitions can shape the fast-growing plant-based food and drink market.

Toyota is recalling around 141,000 Prius and Prius Prime vehicles after discovering that rear doors can unexpectedly open while the car is moving, according to a newly filed report from the Department of Transportation.

The recall covers 2023–2026 Toyota Prius models, 2023–2024 Prius Prime vehicles and 2025–2026 Prius Plug-In Hybrid models sold in the U.S.

The issue stems from an electric rear door lock system that can malfunction if water gets inside a door switch, potentially causing a short circuit. Under certain conditions, the rear door may unlatch if it is not locked.

The 2024 Toyota Prius Prime on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. (Adam J. Dewey/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

If that were to happen while driving, the door could open, increasing the risk of injury to occupants, particularly rear-seat passengers, Toyota said. If the switch activates while the vehicle is in motion, a warning notification may appear on the dashboard and a buzzer may sound to alert the driver.

BMW RECALLS NEARLY 90,000 VEHICLES OVER ENGINE STARTER FIRE RISK

It’s not clear how many vehicles may contain the defective part, but Toyota said it confirmed the issue following internal testing and a reported incident overseas. 

The company said it is not aware of any related injuries or crashes in the U.S. tied to the defect.

The recall covers 2023–2026 Toyota Prius models, 2023–2024 Prius Prime vehicles and 2025–2026 Prius Plug-In Hybrid models sold in the U.S. (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Toyota dealers will modify the left and right rear door switch circuits to prevent the switch from activating, even if it is shorted. The repair will be performed free of charge.

Toyota said it is not aware of any related injuries or crashes in the U.S. tied to the defect. (Nicholas Takahashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Owners of impacted vehicles will be notified in late March, the company said. Otherwise, owners can visit Toyota.com/recall or nhtsa.gov/recalls and enter their vehicle identification number (VIN) or license plate information.

This story on the January jobs report is developing and will be updated with more details.

The U.S. economy posted solid job growth in January as employers hired at a steady pace to start 2026 as the Federal Reserve evaluates the need for rate cuts in the months ahead.

What does the jobs report say?

The Labor Department on Wednesday reported that employers added 130,000 jobs in January. That figure was above the expectations of economists polled by LSEG, who estimated the economy would add 70,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate was 4.3%, slightly lower than economists’ expectations of 4.4%.

Revisions were made to the payroll numbers for the prior two months, with November’s report down by 15,000 from a gain of 56,000 to 41,000; while December’s gains were revised down by 2,000 from a gain of 50,000 to 48,000.

Taken together, employment in November and December was 17,000 jobs lower than previously reported.

What sectors added or lost the most jobs?

Private payrolls grew by 172,000 jobs in January, well above the LSEG estimate of 70,000.

Government payrolls declined by 42,000 jobs in January, with job cuts at the federal (-34,000) and state (-18,000) level partially offset by a gain among local governments (+10,000).

The manufacturing sector added 5,000 jobs in January, beating the expectations of the economists polled by LSEG, who estimated a loss of 5,000 jobs.

Today it has become obvious that for the successful development of business it is not enough just to have a website, it is also necessary to use a special mobile app. The development of such an application can be ordered individually, or it can be done using a ready-made product.

If your business doesn’t already have its own app, we highly recommend that you seriously consider creating one. Today, it’s pretty easy – just contact a company that provides cross platform app development services. Why a cross-platform app?

• Cross-platform development costs less, which is explained by the smaller amount of work compared to native development. But even here there are pitfalls, which can be discerned only by understanding the principles of pricing.
• unlimited functionality and interface of the application;
• low cost of bug fixes and updates;
• There is no need to synchronize the creation of Android- and iOS-applications and spend additional resources on development management.

The benefits of using mobile applications for business

It is no secret that in recent years there are more and more Internet users who use mobile devices – tablets, laptops, smartphones. Of course, on such devices it is better to use mobile applications, the interface of which allows you to quickly, conveniently and comfortably find the necessary goods and services.

For its part, modern business is forced to operate in a highly competitive environment. As a result, not being able to offer their goods and services with a mobile application, you can miss a huge number of potential customers, users, buyers and clients.

In addition, modern mobile applications allow you to organize your current working moments in a completely new way. For example, mobile apps allow you to:

• Track and monitor workforce;
• Organize feedback to the customer base;
• Create a large-scale notification of clients about the beginning of promotions and sales;
• Save significantly on advertising;
• conduct analytics;
• create forecasts and so on.

In essence, modern mobile applications are an extremely effective working tool, the use of which allows businesses not only to compete decently in the market, but also to thrive.

Improving the customer experience

Collecting data in CRM is one thing, but using that data for customer service is quite another. With mobile apps, you can achieve high levels of customer satisfaction by providing real-time customer service. One of the features you can use is customer service chat. This kind of chat gives customers the ability to contact you with any questions and get a prompt response.

You can also include other additional features such as:

• Tracking the status of orders,
• editing and canceling services,
• viewing previous orders,
• print receipts.

This will help simplify the after-sales service process and get more loyal customers.

Attracting customers

To attract new customers, it is enough to offer an interesting bonus for installing the app. Almost every customer is sure to be interested, and everyone has a smartphone these days. The app will help you launch new promotions, and in this way you will stand out among your competitors.

For example, after installing the app, you can offer a permanent discount on a certain product or type of service, a coupon for a free dessert or a cup of coffee. As a rule, when a customer comes to a place, he will not just buy one coupon, but will definitely buy something else, so the company gets a loyal customer.

Website + App

With an app, an ongoing connection can be established with customers. Whereas a website can attract traffic through search engines and redirect people to the app. How to do this?

• Place a popup on the site offering a bonus for installing the app.
• Place a reminder to install the app at the end of every message.
• Set up a redirect page to install the mobile app on GooglePlay if the customer leaves the site.
• Having a mobile app by itself won’t solve all your business problems, but in the right hands it will be a powerful tool to increase profits.

A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange accidentally credited users with more than $40 billion in Bitcoin during a promotional giveaway, briefly turning ordinary customers into nine-figure holders.

The incident at Bithumb, the country’s second-largest crypto exchange, sent shockwaves through South Korea’s digital-asset market.

The error occurred on February 6, when an employee distributing prizes totaling 620,000 Korean won (about $425) for a “random box” promotion mistakenly entered the amounts in Bitcoin instead of won.

This misstep resulted in 620,000 bitcoins being credited across hundreds of accounts — far exceeding the exchange’s actual reserves. At the time, the amount was worth more than $40 billion, The Guardian reported.

Only 249 of the 695 eligible customers opened their prize boxes and received the erroneous credits, according to regulators.

“Catastrophic” was how Lee Chan-jin, governor of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), described the situation, especially for those who sold the Bitcoin and faced potential losses when prices changed.

Bithumb moved quickly once it detected the mistake. Trading and withdrawals were halted within about 35 minutes.

Bithumb Recovers Most Bitcoin After Glitch

However, some users managed to sell approximately 1,788 bitcoins before controls were fully in place, briefly triggering a 15% to 17% drop in Bitcoin prices on the platform.

Some of the proceeds were withdrawn to bank accounts, while others were used to buy different cryptocurrencies.

According to the NY Post, Bithumb has since recovered 99.7% of the mistakenly credited Bitcoin through internal ledger corrections and persuading users to return the funds.

Roughly 125 bitcoins, valued at about $9 million, remain unrecovered. The exchange has pledged to absorb the loss and emphasized that the incident was not the result of hacking or a security breach.

“We want to make it clear that this matter has nothing to do with external hacking or security breaches, and there is no problem with system security or customer asset management,” the company said in a statement.

The FSS has launched a full investigation, and South Korea’s parliament scheduled an emergency hearing to question both Bithumb and financial authorities.

Originally published on vcpost.com