Big Tobacco Sues British Government Over Effort to Strip Logos From Cigarette Packaging

Tobacco companies are fighting a recently passed law that would strip logos and branding from cigarette packages to in order to make them less enticing to consumers in the United Kingdom.

Philip Morris International, which owns the Marlboro band, filed suit Friday in a British court seeking to stop regulators from imposing standardized packaging on cigarettes. Philip Morris argues that such regulations would unlawfully deprive the company of use its own trademarks.

“Countries around the world have shown that effective tobacco control can co-exist with respect for consumer freedoms and private property,” Philip Morris said in a statement.

Under the new law, traditional cigarette logos would be replaced with large, graphic health warnings. Australia enacted a similar law in 2012.

According to Philip Morris, Marlboro was the ninth most valuable brand in the world in 2014 with an estimated value of $67 billion.