A Sydney-based ugg boot maker has lost his legal battle with a major US footwear company after a jury found he wilfully infringed a trademark. Eddie Oygur, owner of Australian Leather, was ordered to pay $US450,000 ($A643,000) in statutory damages to Deckers Outdoor, which owns the UGG brand.
The four-day trial in Chicago centred on Oygur’s sale of ugg boots online to customers in the United States. Deckers, which generates more than $US1bn in annual sales from its UGG brands, argued that Oygur’s actions infringed its trademark, which it acquired in 1995.
Oygur maintained that “ugg” is a generic term originating from the Australian surfing community in the 1960s and therefore cannot be trademarked. Former senator Nick Xenophon, who supported Oygur in Chicago, said the verdict was a “cruel blow” and called on the Australian government to back an appeal.
Xenophon expressed disappointment that the Australian government had not provided legal assistance to Oygur, who was fighting the case alone. “The term ugg should never have been trademarked. It is a generic term that should have been protected by Australian governments in the past,” he said.
Oygur may also face an order to pay millions more in legal costs. Xenophon said Oygur was “devastated and defiant” and hoped Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten would support his appeal.
