Overview
- Judges at the Landgericht Stuttgart are hearing Ritter Sport’s claim that Wacker’s ‘Monnemer Quadrat Bio’ infringes its protected square packaging, with demands to halt sales and recall distributed bars.
- Wacker launched the square-packaged oat bar about a year ago, sold roughly 12,000 units early on, and has since scaled back production because of the dispute.
- The Mannheim company argues its minimally processed oat snack targets health‑conscious buyers and is not confusingly similar to classic chocolate tablets.
- Germany’s patent office confirms a registered ‘blank’ Ritter Sport wrapper with side flaps and a longitudinal seam, and the brand prevailed in a related 2020 case against Milka.
- Ritter Sport signals a longer, non-square format could satisfy its concerns; Wacker says it proposed packaging changes before being sued and estimates potential legal costs of about €80,000 if the case reaches a third instance.