Overview
- The Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart ruled for Ritter Sport on Thursday, November 5, 2026, granting claims for an injunction and damages over Wacker’s 'Monnemer Quadrat Bio' square oat bar (case no. 2 U 3/26).
- The court said the two packagings were 'überdurchschnittlich' similar and found a likelihood of consumer confusion, relying in part on Ritter Sport’s DPMA-registered blank packaging mark from 1996.
- Wacker has pulled the square bar from online sale and temporarily replaced it with a conventional elongated product called the 'Monnemer Klageriegel' to limit exposure to further claims.
- The OLG reversed an earlier Landgericht Stuttgart ruling that found no infringement, and the decision is not final because it can still be challenged at the Bundesgerichtshof.
- Legal experts say the judgment binds only the two companies and is unlikely to force action against long-established square snacks, but consumer groups warn that broader shape protection could increase uncertainty for other manufacturers.