Honduras complained at the World Trade Organization about an Australian law that prohibits the display of tobacco companies’ logos, labels and trademarks, saying the ban violates global rules on intellectual property.
As of Dec. 1, cigarettes in Australia will have to be sold in dark brown packets, with no symbols or images and the same font for all brands. Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) (PM), Imperial Tobacco Group Plc (IMP) (IMP), British American Tobacco Plc (BATS) and Japan Tobacco Inc. (2914) are challenging the law and will present their arguments against it in Canberra beginning April 17.
“Honduras has decided to take this action given that Australia’s law contravenes several WTO obligations on intellectual-property rights and technical barriers to trade, and given the serious economic consequences that this measure would have on Honduran tobacco exports,” the country’s WTO ambassador, Dacio Castillo, said in an e-mailed statement.
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