PtP
23-01-2004, 11:04 AM
LIKE Arnotts, Vegemite and Hardy wines, the beloved ugg boot could soon be lost to the US in a move which threatens to destroy a 70-year-old industry.
The move comes after US footwear company Deckers Corporation bought an Australian ugg boot company and registered the name ugg boots.
Deckers, operating under the logo Ugg Holdings Inc, has forced one Australian manufacturer to be removed from E-Bay and has threatened to sue other local companies to stop them using the name ugg boots here and overseas.
Dozens of other manufacturers and traders have been issued with the demand. Even the Macquarie Dictionary has been forced to acknowledge US ownership after Deckers threatened to sue unless it made mention of its association.
Intellectual property and copyright lawyer Jane Owen said yesterday the issue first arose five years ago when Deckers sent Australian manufacturers a letter ordering them to stop selling their products in the US.
The companies ignored the demand and now - with the explosion in popularity of ugg boots, especially among the world's elite - Deckers has again threatened to sue.
But local manufacturers, determined to keep the icon Australian, have vowed to fight the move.
Blue Mountains manufacturer Brian Iversen, whose family has made ugg boots since 1933, said yesterday local companies had never bothered to register the name "ugg boot" because the term was "generic".
The thought of a US company now trying to claim the name was "a joke".
Mr Iversen, who runs Blue Mountains Ugg Boots at Faulconbridge, said at the heart of the dispute was Deckers' price for ugg boots.
"They want to sell their boots for $US350 a pair. I'm selling the equivalent in Australia for $120 and they're saying because of me it's ruining their business," he said.
"But that's only because they're charging 350 bucks for something they're paying 30 bucks for - and they wouldn't be paying any more than that if it's made in China.
"They would be making a 1000 per cent profit and they're trying to stop everyone else from selling them."
Mr Iversen, whose father began the business, said he was determined to retain ugg boots.
"We fought them off five years ago so what are we going to give up now for?" he said.
The latest chapter in the dispute began on December 23 when Deckers issued a letter explaining their copyright and ordering the Iversens to stop using the name ugg boots.
But the family's legal team is confident they will beat the US giant.
Ms Owen, who is representing the Iversens and another local manufacturer, said the copyright attempt was like trying to register the term "sandshoe".
"The fact is all the traders in Australia seem to use it."
The Daily Telegraph
The move comes after US footwear company Deckers Corporation bought an Australian ugg boot company and registered the name ugg boots.
Deckers, operating under the logo Ugg Holdings Inc, has forced one Australian manufacturer to be removed from E-Bay and has threatened to sue other local companies to stop them using the name ugg boots here and overseas.
Dozens of other manufacturers and traders have been issued with the demand. Even the Macquarie Dictionary has been forced to acknowledge US ownership after Deckers threatened to sue unless it made mention of its association.
Intellectual property and copyright lawyer Jane Owen said yesterday the issue first arose five years ago when Deckers sent Australian manufacturers a letter ordering them to stop selling their products in the US.
The companies ignored the demand and now - with the explosion in popularity of ugg boots, especially among the world's elite - Deckers has again threatened to sue.
But local manufacturers, determined to keep the icon Australian, have vowed to fight the move.
Blue Mountains manufacturer Brian Iversen, whose family has made ugg boots since 1933, said yesterday local companies had never bothered to register the name "ugg boot" because the term was "generic".
The thought of a US company now trying to claim the name was "a joke".
Mr Iversen, who runs Blue Mountains Ugg Boots at Faulconbridge, said at the heart of the dispute was Deckers' price for ugg boots.
"They want to sell their boots for $US350 a pair. I'm selling the equivalent in Australia for $120 and they're saying because of me it's ruining their business," he said.
"But that's only because they're charging 350 bucks for something they're paying 30 bucks for - and they wouldn't be paying any more than that if it's made in China.
"They would be making a 1000 per cent profit and they're trying to stop everyone else from selling them."
Mr Iversen, whose father began the business, said he was determined to retain ugg boots.
"We fought them off five years ago so what are we going to give up now for?" he said.
The latest chapter in the dispute began on December 23 when Deckers issued a letter explaining their copyright and ordering the Iversens to stop using the name ugg boots.
But the family's legal team is confident they will beat the US giant.
Ms Owen, who is representing the Iversens and another local manufacturer, said the copyright attempt was like trying to register the term "sandshoe".
"The fact is all the traders in Australia seem to use it."
The Daily Telegraph