diff --git a/gst/gstpadtemplate.c b/gst/gstpadtemplate.c
index 5b766eb675..6a18c512b5 100644
--- a/gst/gstpadtemplate.c
+++ b/gst/gstpadtemplate.c
@@ -365,8 +365,7 @@ gst_pad_template_new (const gchar * name_template,
       "name", name_template, "name-template", name_template,
       "direction", direction, "presence", presence, "caps", caps, NULL);
 
-  if (caps)
-    gst_caps_unref (caps);
+  gst_caps_unref (caps);
 
   return new;
 }