Overview
- The Stuttgart regional court found no likelihood of confusion and no exploitation of reputation between Ritter Sport’s chocolate bars and Wacker’s square-packaged oat bar.
- Judges cited product differences and presentation in stores, noting the oat bar appears more rectangular, thicker and airier, with broader closure flaps.
- The decision is not final, and Ritter Sport’s lawyers signaled they may challenge the ruling in higher courts, a process that could take years.
- Wacker had already withdrawn the square “Monnemer Quadrat Bio” and introduced a rectangular “Monnemer Klageriegel” to limit potential damages for the small, roughly 30-person firm.
- Ritter Sport argued its three-dimensional square packaging, protected since 1996 and upheld by a 2020 Federal Court of Justice precedent, was infringed and sought a sales ban and recalls.