Tobacco companies told a court judge the government’s plan to impose standardised packaging for their products strips them of intellectual property rights without compensation, Reuters reported.

The companies, Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International, believe UK law on intellectual property is more favourable to their cause than in Australia, where a court challenge failed to halt plain packaging, Reuters said.
Plain packs, drab brown in colour with brand names printed in identical style, are scheduled for introduction next May in the UK.
Six days of testimony before the High Court in the Royal Courts of Justice in London are planned. A ruling is possible early next year, Reuters said. A separate complaint before the European Union challenges action by the EU to grant member states the right to introduce plain packaging.