Mars US has failed in its federal court legal action against Australian confectionery company Sweet Rewards.

Mars argued the packaging and the name Malt Balls was too similar to its trademark Maltesers. But the judge said consumers would have no difficulty telling the brands apart.

Earlier this year, Justice Perram dismissed Mars’ application in its entirety, and awarded costs to Sweet Rewards. However, Mars appealed the decision to the full court of the Federal Court and the appeal was heard in Sydney in November. It unanimously dismissed Mars appeal in its entirety.

The court found that the other features of the packaging trade marks, namely the colour red and the depiction of the product in cross-section, are commonly used on confectionery packaging and therefore do not distinguish Maltesers from other confectionery products.