UGG, the brand responsible for those ubiquitous pull-on suede boots, has filed a lawsuit against competitor Emu over the use of the word "ugg."
Deckers Outdoor Corp., the company that owns Ugg Australia, is suing Emu Australia for identifying products as "ugg boots" on their US website. According to the Emu's camp, "ugg" is a generic descriptor in Australia, meaning sheepskin boots, thereby dismissing the charges. Furthermore, Emu, an Australian company, points out that Deckers is actually an American company (ironically making money off the official UGG Australia moniker), and that in Australia, more than 70 registered trademarks use the word "ugg."
Deckers, on the other hand, claims they've been forced to take a strict stance on trademark infringements due to a plethora of copies piggybacking on the brand's success and misleading shoppers looking for Uggs. And, with winter setting in and the maddeningly long lines outside the city's Ugg store, clearly the demand for the boots isn't flagging.
