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- A court has rejected a case brought by Australian Leather to remove a trademark for "Ugg" boots.
- Deckers Outdoor Corporation holds the trademark in many countries, limiting where Australian bootmakers can sell.
- Australian Leather's owner says 'Ugg' should be protected for Australia as 'champagne' is for France.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A federal appeals court has rejected a case by an Australian bootmaker to remove an trademark on the word "Ugg" in the US, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Australian Leather produces the distinctive sheepskin boots, first made in Australia in the 1930s and widely considered a national symbol, and sells them without a trademark.
Eddie Oygur, the company's owner, is fighting to prevent California-based company Deckers Outdoor Corporation from using the trademark.
He argues the term should be protected for Australia in the same way that the French have "champagne", the NYT reported.
However the term "UGG Australia" was trademarked in the US in the 1980s. Deckers bought the rights in 1995 and holds it in more than 130 countries.
This means Australian companies are severely limited in where they can sell their boots overseas.
"This is not just about me; it is about Australia taking back 'ugg,'" Oygur told the NYT. "The trademark should never have been given in the first place to the US."
The company has been involved in an ugly legal battle with Deckers since 2016, after Oygur sold 13 pairs of ugg boots through his online store. Deckers took the Sydney-based company to court for trademark infringement, and won.
Deckers has cornered the global market for its ugg boots. In 2020, the company earned 75% of its $2 billion revenue from its ugg brand, according to its annual report.
Oygur said he would escalate the case to the US Supreme Court, according to the NYT.