Australian Company UGG Since 1974 Must Change Name After Legal Battle

An Australian UGG manufacturer must change its name when shipping its products to the United States and other territories after a lengthy legal battle to determine if the well-known name is a brand or a style of shoe.

UGG Since 1974 was sued by Deckers Outdoor Corporation, a United States shoe company, for its use of the name UGG. Now, after almost 10 years since the legal battle over the trademark began, UGG Since 1974 has been forced to rebrand as “Since 74” for customers outside of Australia and New Zealand.

The American shoe brand UGG was founded in 1978 by an Australian surfer who moved to Southern California and was purchased by Deckers Outdoor Corporation in 1995. Deckers subsequently sells what most Americans equate to the wildly popular UGG Boots. However, in Australia, the name UGG is typically used to describe sheepskin shoes more generally. It isn’t a brand name like it is in the States.

Deckers has trademarked UGG in more than 130 countries, including in the U.S. and Europe. Two regions where it’s not allowed to own this trademark are Australia and New Zealand.

Thus, UGG Since 1974 has now dropped the word UGG from its merchandise in all countries outside of Australia and New Zealand, where it continues to hold a local trademark. There, Australian UGG Since 1974 can continue to be sold without a name change.

‘We Are The Original’ Says UGG Since 1974 Owner

According to 7NEWS Australia, Todd Watts said his brand “UGG Since 1974” had been targeted in this lawsuit. “It’s extremely hard to fight a lawsuit against a multi-billion dollar company, especially as a family-owned, Australian-made business,” he said in a statement.

“Now, due to this scenario, we’ve decided to transition our brand to Since 74 outside of Australia and New Zealand. In Australia and New Zealand we will always forever be ‘UGG Since 1974’ but for those boots leaving our borders and heading over to you guys overseas, we will transition our brand to ‘Since 74,’” Watts continued.

He concluded, “Our roots are still the same, our quality is still the same, the product is still the same, and more importantly, our story is still the same. We are the original, and we will still be the original no matter what our label says on the back of our boots. It isn’t just about boots, it’s about resilience.”

UGG Since 1974 is an entirely Australian-owned, third-generation, family-run company. However, it is not the only company affected. Dozens of small businesses in Australia and New Zealand have trademarks containing the word “UGG,” according to Business Insider.