An iconic Australian boot brand will now go by a different name outside of Australia and New Zealand after it was sued by a US fashion company.
UGG Since 1974 owner Todd Watts made the announcement on Tuesday after Deckers Outdoor Corporation sued the Australian brand over the trademark of the word ‘ugg’.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation owns the trademarks for UGG in more than 130 countries, including the US.
As a result of the latest legal action, UGG Since 1974 will shorten its name to Since 74 in all countries outside of Australia and New Zealand, where it holds the rights to the local trademark.
“We’re being sued by Deckers Outdoor Corporation,” Mr Springthorpe said in a TikTok video.
“…We’ve been proudly making Australian boots for over five decades and three generations and we also own the trademark here in Australia and New Zealand where the boots originated, where Ugg boots originated.
“But the Deckers lawsuit has made it hard to share our story and our boots with everyone else within the world.”
Ugg is the generic term in Australia for any sheepskin boots lined with fleece made since the 1930s.
Surfers popularised the boots in the 1960s, and they skyrocketed to international fame as a fashion trend in the 2000s.
Four years after UGG Since 1974 was launched, UGG was founded in California in 1978 by Australian surfer Brian Smith, before Deckers Brands acquired it in 1995 for $14.6 million (AUD $23.6 million).
Mr Watts described fighting the lawsuit against the multi-billion dollar US designer as “extremely hard, especially as a family-owned Australian made business.”
“Due to this scenario, we have decided to transition our brand to Since 74,” he said.
“In Australia and New Zealand, we will always, forever, be UGG Since 1974.”
“But for those boots leaving our borders and heading over to your guys overseas, we will transition our brand to Since 74. Nothing else changes.”
He said the lawsuit is ongoing after Deckers Outdoor Corporation took Australian Leather for copyright infringement in 2016.
