diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/ui/EmptyIcon.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/ui/EmptyIcon.java
index 8ff79ab1015c..2d08af300fdf 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/ui/EmptyIcon.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/ui/EmptyIcon.java
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ public class EmptyIcon implements Icon, ScalableIcon {
 
   private final int width;
   private final int height;
-  private float scale = 1f;
+  protected float scale = 1f;
 
   public static Icon create(int size) {
     Icon icon = cache.get(size);