Australians can call their boots 'uggs'

PERTH, Australia, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Australian makers of sheepskin boots have every right to call their boots ugly -- or "ugg" for short -- the country's trademark authority has decided.

IP Australia said the name "ugg," or "ugh," referring to a popular type of sheepskin boots, would be removed from the Australian register of trademarks, meaning it is now a generic name, The Australian reported Tuesday.

The term originated in Australia in the late 1960s as a short form of "ugly," referring to the fleecy boots. The name was registered as a trademark in the early 1970s and bought by U.S. company Deckers in 1995.

Deckers took legal action in 2003 to prevent local companies using the name "ugg," but Perth retailers Bronwyn and Bruce McDougall filed a claim in December 2003 to win back their name.

Trademark hearings officer Ian Thompson said the evidence overwhelmingly supported the interchangeable use of "ugg," "ugh" and "ug" as the most natural way to describe the boots.

Bronwyn McDougall described the decision as a "moral victory for all Australians."

But the McDougalls' lawyer, David Stewart, said Deckers still owned the trademark in other jurisdictions, including the United States.