Ugg boots is a sheep skin unisex style originating from Australia and New Zealand. The boots are usually made of twin-faced sheepskin with inner feathers, brown outer surfaces, and synthetic soles. The term, originally from Australia, was originally for utilitarian footwear worn for warmth, and which surfers often used during the 1960s. In the 1970s, boots were introduced to surf culture from the United Kingdom and the United States. Sheepskin boots became a fashion trend in the US in the late 1990s and as a worldwide trend in the mid-2000s. In Australia, they are worn mainly as sandals and are often associated with "daggy" fashion fashions and "bogan" cultures.
A previous legal dispute between some sheepskin leather manufacturers appears to distinguish whether "ugg" is a protected trademark, or a general term and thus not eligible for trademark protection. There are over 70 registered trademarks that include the term "ugg" in various logos and designs in Australia and New Zealand, as this term is considered a general reference for this type of shoe. Outside Australia and New Zealand, UGG is a brand produced by California-based Deckers Outdoor Corporation, with most of its manufacturing based in China and with registered trademarks in over 130 countries worldwide including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, all members of the European Union, and China.
Noteworthy producers in Australia and New Zealand are Luda Productions of Australia, which holds about 75% of Australia's market share; Australian EMU; Euram Ugg; Blue Mountains Ugg Boots; Original UGG Shoes; Sheepskin Mortels Factory; Bearpaw; Uggs-N-Rugs; Binder Corporation and Westhaven Industries. Deckers is a leading manufacturer of footwear styles outside Australia. In 2010, worldwide sales by combined Australian producers equaled 5.9% of Decker UGG shoe sales, with UGG dominating the world market.
Video Ugg boots
Histori
There are different claims to the origin of ugg boot style. Artisanal sheepskin boots were known in the Australian countryside during the 1920s, and were reportedly worn by shavers as they found they were resistant to yellow wool, which would decompose their ordinary boots. However, the date of commencement of commercial starts is not yet clear. The boots were reportedly produced in 1933 by Blue Mountains Ugg Boots in New South Wales. Frank Mortel from Mortels Sheepskin Factory has stated that he started producing boots in the late 1950s. Surfer Shane Stedman of Australia has stated in an interview that he found ugg boot. Sheepskin leather maker Perth Bruce and Bronwyn McDougall from Uggs-N-Rugs have been producing the shoe since the late 1970s.
The origin of the term "ugg" is also unclear. Stedman registered the trademark "UGH-BOOTS" in Australia in 1971, and in 1982 registered the trademark "UGH". Frank Mortel claimed that he named his company's sheepskin boots "ugg boots" in 1958 after his wife commented that the first pair he made was "ugly." Some accounts suggest that the term has grown from earlier variations, such as "fug shoes" worn by British Royal Air Force pilots during World War I.
The 1970s saw the advent of advertisements using the UGG and UGH terms both in the trade names and as a general term in Australia. The first Macquarie Dictionary of the Australian language includes a definition for "ugg boot" as a general term for sheepskin boots in the 1981 edition. (After Stedman complained to the editor of Macquarie, the trademark notation was added to the next edition which indicates that "UGH" is a trademark).
In the 1970s, ugg boots became popular among competitive surfers. After cinemas in Sydney banned ugg boots and torn jeans, footwear became rather popular in the youth market as a sign of rebellion. Sheepskin leather footwear accounts for about 10 percent of footwear production in Australia.
International sales
Surfing helps popularize boots outside of Australia and New Zealand. The advertisement for Australian sheepskin boots first appeared in a California surf magazine in 1970. In the mid-1970s, surfing shops in Santa Cruz, California, and San Fernando Valley sold limited boots bought by shop owners when visit surfing events. in Australia. In 1978, Western Leather Sheepskin leather maker, Leather Country, was advertised outside Australia for a distributor to sell sheepskin boots, made of sheepskin sourced from Jackson's Tannery in Geelong, Victoria. Seeing the popularity of shoes among American surfers, Australian surfer Brian Smith, who lives in Santa Monica, California, buys boots from Country Leather but is unhappy with the brand and decides to register UGG as his own trademark. Family friends are investing $ 20,000 into new ventures and the group organizes Ugg Imports. Due to other business commitments, in 1979 Jensen gave his share to Smith. In 1987 Smith listed Ugg Holdings Inc. and in 1985 registered the US trademark in the ram's head logo with the words "UGG UGG Original UGG Australia." In 1995, Ugg Holdings bought various Stedman trademarks. As for the ugg name, Smith states: "We always called them, long before it was a trademark."
Shoe manufacturer Hide & amp; Foot in Newquay, Cornwall began producing sheepskin boots in 1973, and in 1990 Nick Whitworth and his wife Kath bought the business and registered "UGG" as a trademark in the United Kingdom. Due to increased popularity and sales, in 1991 the company changed its name to "The Original Ugg Co." In 1999, Whitworth sold the UGG UK company and trademark name to Deckers Outdoor Corporation, renaming the company to Celtic Sheepskin Company.
In 1994, UGG shoes had grown in status among surfers in California with 80% of sales in southern Orange County where Ugg Holdings saw a 60% increase in sales the previous season. UGG Smith's shoes gained international exposure when worn by the US Olympic team at Lillehammer for the 1994 Winter Olympics. Australian producers also saw an increase in sheepskin boots exports to the United States, although Ugg Holdings maintained about 80% market share. At the end of the year, Country Leather has opened its own storefront at Redondo Beach to promote brand extension from established surfing markets to major shoe sales and Ugg Holdings began buying UGG boots directly from Jackson's Tannery, which has changed its name. to the Australian EMU. In early 1995, Smith promoted the UGG AUSTRALIA brand at the Rush Limbaugh event, which spurred sales while the brand gained further exposure when the San Diego Chargers began to use it. According to retailers, not only footwear attract consumers, but the tie "made in Australia" because boots are unique products that are only available from Australia and Australian products at that time are very popular. In August 1995, Smith sold Ugg Holdings to Deckers Outdoor Corporation for $ 14.6 million. In 1996, Deckers registered various trademarks for "UGG" in the US.
Australian Ugg boots are not considered fashionable in their home country and are worn for warmth and comfort. Ugg boots in Australia are worn mainly as sandals and are associated with "odd fashion sense, bogan behavior" and "outer periphery" when worn in public. According to fashion stylist Justin Craig: "The only person who escaped by wearing it was a model, which gave the message: 'I'm so pretty, I can look good in anything.' The UGG Deckers brand emerged as a fashion trend in the US through the actions of Deckers to promote it as a high fashion brand. Deckers sought support from celebrities such as Kate Hudson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lopez, and product placement in television series such as Sex and the City, and films such as . This marketing campaign "generates exponential growth in popularity and brand recognition." The company reported US $ 689 million in UGG sales in 2008, almost 50 times that of 1995.
Maps Ugg boots
Design
Australian traditional ugg shoes are made of sheepskin with fleece. The fleece was tanned into leather and the boots were assembled with fleece on the inside. Some ugg boots have synthetic soles, commonly made of Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). The seams often stand out on the outside of the boot. The insulative nature of sheep skin provides isothermal properties in boots: the thick fibers on the inside of the shoe absorb moisture and allow air to circulate, keep the feet at body temperature and allow the boots to keep the feet warm in cold and cool weather in hot weather. Produced by a number of manufacturers, they come in a variety of colors, including black, pink, blue, brown, and fuchsia. They are available in pull-on and lace-up varieties and the height can range from just above the ankle to the top of the knee.
Some variations of ugg-style shoes have also been made from kangaroo hair and leather. There are also synthetic shoes. Although mocked as "fake" by some in the industry, lower prices make them attractive to large retail chains such as Myer.
Animal rights
Similar to skin sources, sheepskin is a by-product of sheep's processing for human consumption. That is, sheep are not specifically killed for their skin. Because it is a by-product, sheepskin supply is limited by the number of sheep processed for the meat industry. The rise in popularity of "UGG" -brand ugg boots has become a "driving force" in the recent shortage, which has seen sheepskin prices from 2010 to 2012 increased by 80%.
Being one of many clothing products made of animal skin, sheepskin boots production has been the subject of criticism by the animal rights movement with manufacturers responding by improving animal welfare. Animal rights groups are calling for a boycott of sheepskin boots and their replacements with synthetic alternatives. In 2007, Pamela Anderson, realized that the boots were made of leather, calling for a boycott on his website. In February 2008, the Princeton Animal Welfare Society held a campus protest against the feather industry, mainly attacking the sheepskin boot industry.
Trademark disputes
The UGG name trademark has been the subject of dispute in several countries. Deckers Outdoor Corporation has won disputes in the United States, the Netherlands and Turkey. In Australia and New Zealand, ugg is a generic term. The trademark for "Ugh-Boots" has been removed from the trademark registry for not being used. Outside Australia and New Zealand, UGG ( in capital letters ) is a registered trademark of Deckers Outdoor Corporation.
The first trademark application for UGG in the United States was filed by the company Brian Smith in 1984. In the 1990s, Smith and later Deckers earned additional registration in the US and other countries. In 1999, Deckers began to affirm its new trademark and sent a stop and stop letter to an Australian manufacturer that sells sheepskin boots outside of Australia via the internet. In early 2000, demand for UGG boots increased with Australian and US producers selling sheepskin boots through the Internet. There is confusion among consumers between generic ugg boots made in Australia and UGG Deckers boots. Deckers law firm, Middletons of Melbourne, embarked on a serious effort to stop selling Australian companies by sending stops and deleting letters to manufacturers based in Australia and the US, preventing them from selling sheepskin boots using UGG trademarks on eBay or using word in name registered business or their domain name. Deckers initiates many domain name actions under UDRP.
In response to this action by Deckers, some Australian manufacturers set up the Australian Sheepskin Association to counter corporate claims, arguing that "ugg" is a general term referring to flat-heeled sheepskin boots. One of these manufacturers, Uggs-N-Rugs in Perth, which has been producing ugg boots since 1978 and selling them online since 1996, appealed to the Australian trademark regulator. The officer who heard the case stated that "the evidence strongly supports the proposition that terms (ugg, ugh and ug boots) are alternately used to describe certain styles of sheepskin boot and are the first and most natural way to describe this stuff." In 2006, Uggs-N-Rugs won the right to use the terms UGG BOOT/S and variations such as UGH BOOT/S in Australia. Deckers retain trademark rights for their UGG logo in Australia because trademark protection only applies to the way the sign appears overall and not the words it contains. IP Australia also ruled that the trademark "UGH-boots" (with hyphens) should be removed from the trademark list for not being used because Deckers only use the UGG logo, not the UGH sign. This 2006 ruling applies only in Australia and Deckers still has trademarks in other jurisdictions such as the US, China, Japan and the European Union.
See also
- 2000s in mode
- 2010 in mode
- Mukluk
References
External links
- Documentary film about trademark disputes: Manufactured and directed by Susan Lambert, Jumping Dog Productions. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugg boot .
- "Save Our Aussie Icon" - campaign against trademark
- US. Patent and Trademark Office: "" Trademark Search "
- World Intellectual Property Office: "Trademark Search"
- List of Deckers Outdoor Corporation trademarks containing the word UGG, registered in over 100 countries.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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