Paladin
KC Hill
Craig Hill
jon
Oracle of DelphiUGGs are Fugly.
September 22nd 2006 04:29
A Down-Under David versus globalised Goliath story emerged recently that highlighted a particularly ugly facet of global economics - cultural vampirism. This particular episode involves a real, honest-to-God, mom and pop outfit in Western Australia getting picked on and generally shoved around by a typically faceless, American corporation, resulting in a legal stoush in which nobody, least of all the innocent public, can truly claim victory. The brouhaha is over an inglorious entry in the fashion annals in the shape of the Australian ugg boot. This is a brutally uggly piece of footwear (hence the name) that when misguidedly worn resembles, nay embodies, a pair of dead sheep on the feet. Their only beauty lies in their simple functionality as say, bedroom slippers. To be worn INSIDE. But shit, if the shoe fits, wear it to meet the pope for all I care. Apparently this white-trash favourite became trendy at some point (I missed it I’m afraid) reportedly because Pamela Anderson donned a pair. Although that can’t possibly be right as white macrame bikini wedding attire still hasn’t taken off and I’ve yet to see anyone sauntering down Hollywood Boulevard in a bright red, one-piece swimsuit but hey, what do I know? At any rate the issue raised it’s uggly head in all its jingoistic glory in a documentary “The good, the bad and the ugg boot” which screened recently on Australian TV. After fifty-odd years of infamy in Australian culture, the humble ugg boot took off as millions of gullible Americans put the fuggly things on. This resulted in a gaggle of American manufacturers jumping on the ugg wagon and, God forbid, mass-producing the fuckers. Why anyone would want to commit ugg trafficking let alone encourage their proliferation can only mean their greed outweighs their fashion sense but, y’know, whatever man. Let ‘em wear cake I say. Anyhoo here’s the rub, massive multinational moccasin manufacturer Decker not only makes the things and markets them as “UGG Australia” but then goes beyond the pale and copyrights the term! They back this up with legal muscle to force small operators to cease and desist use of the words “ugg, ug and ugh”. American Ugg manufacturer Koolaburra (is that a real word or is it a cheap appropriation of “kookaburra” crossed with “coolibah”?) fought Deckers and lost, forcing closure of their business. Enter “Uggs-N-Rugs”, a husband and wife business in WA who fight valiantly to overturn the trademark. Ultimately they triumph, giving the doco a great, feel-good ending, but the uggliness remains. Whilst they proved that “ugg” is a generic term, allowing ugg boots to be labelled as such in Australia, the trademark still stands in the U.S. “UGG Australia” still dominates the world market (despite the fact it is an American company selling boots made in China) and continues to ruthlessly enforce their ownership of the words. It is similar to Nike’s trademark on “Just do it” which is different from say, “Coke is the real thing” because it isn’t particular to the brand and covers a generic term. I imagine the Chinese were none to happy to see their gooseberries re-branded as Kiwifruit but I don’t remember anyone complaining. This begs the question, why is our language up for sale? When a foreign company can call themselves “UGG Australia” we have lost not only our words but also our national identity. Surely governments should have a role in defending our identity and our culture. Even if we talk in pure economic terms, our nation is our brand and we should be defending that as vigorously as any corporation. The French don’t lie down when it comes to “French Champagne” so why are we rolling over? Should I take out a trademark on “American Baseball Caps”?
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
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Comment by MelissaA
Fun Facts
Macca's tried to get them for trademark or copyright infringement etc which they didn't win thankfully.
Otherwise can't you just see every Scottish/irish etc decendant being sued over their own names.
Comment by Anonymous
NOBODY CARES WHAT YOU THINK!
so keep your rude comments to yourself,
nobody is hurting youuu by wearing UGG boots.
and you think they're white trash?
the only people who are white trash are people like you trying to get attention by writing stupid articles on the internetttt.
hahahha hope you had fun writing it though.