Trade marks consisting of the packaging of goods that do not have an inherent shape and whose marketing requires packaging are to be treated no differently than shape of goods trade marks. If they are to be protected, these packagings must enable the average consumer of the goods in question, who is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, to distinguish the goods from those of other undertakings without analysing or comparing them and without paying particular attention.^[1]
This applies, for example, to goods that are manufactured in a granular, powdery or liquid consistency and are not stocked in their own form due to their nature. In this case, the packaging gives the product its shape. The shape of bottles, for example, depends on the specific case. In the case of the trade marks applied for in respect of beverages and detergents

for example, the three designs on the left had sufficient distinctiveness due to the numerous design details.^[2] The Coca-Cola bottle shape

also lacked any distinctiveness.^[3] In contrast, the design on the right could not be registered even with the slice of lime in the bottleneck.^[4] For ice cream^[5] the design

and for confectionery^[6] the blue and white design

was not distinctive.
This is to be distinguished from the packaging of goods that are stocked in an inherent form and can be marketed without the packaging needing to be given a particular form. In these cases, there is generally no sufficiently close connection between the packaging and the goods, so that the packaging of the form of the goods cannot be equated for the examination of a trade mark application.
This applies, for example, to nails, which are regularly sold packaged, but which can in principle also be sold unpackaged.^[7]