Volume 63, No. 8, of the INTA Bulletin (15 April 2008) carries a note, "GERMANY: Can Size Be a Trademark?" by Martin Viefhues (Jonas Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, Cologne). This note reviews the Bundespatentgericht's decision of 19 December 2007 to refused trade mark registration for trade mark that was no more than a miniature scale model of the product in respect of which it was to be used (a Leberkäse meatloaf, illustrated right).

The application was initially refused by the German Patent Office. The Court dismissed the applicant's appeal for several reasons, one of which being that, since Leberkäse was sold in packaging that bore a word mark, consumers would not examine its size in order to identify its origin. The need to keep different sized versions of the product available for use by all was not argued.