/wp-includes/yeezy-boost-350-v2.htmlyeezy boost 350 zebrayeezy boost 350 zebra for saleyeezy boost 350 v2 for sale http://hotelaqua.co.uk/2016/jordan-11-space-jam.htmlspace jam 11s for salejordan 11 space jamspace jam 11s 2016jordan 11 space jam low for salejordan 11 space jam 2016jordan 11 space jamjordan 11 space jam for salejordan 11 space jamjordan 11 space jam north face cyber monday salelululemon cyber monday collectionuggs cyber mondaymichael kors cyber mondayugg black friday sale /yeezy-boost-350-v2-stripe/yeezy boost 350 v2 black Greenyeezy boost 350 v2yeezy boost 350 v2 saleyeezy boost 350 v2 black Greenyeezy boost 350 v2adidas yeezy boost 350 v2 black /black-friday/north-face/lululemon black friday dealis michael kors having a cyber monday saleugg cyber monday sale 2016the north face cyber monday promo codeugg black friday 2016michael kors black friday handbagsugg black fridaycanada goose cyber monday 2016beats by dre headphones black friday dealsnorth face cyber monday dealsnorth face black friday sale for jacketsnorth face cyber monday dealsbeats by dre solo black friday online
ugg black fridayugg black fridayugg black friday sale 2016ugg black friday saleugg black friday salemichael kors black friday usnorth face black friday 2016canada goose cyber monday dealscoach black fridaymoncler boots cyber mondaycoach ellenton black fridayugg black fridayblack friday sales for lululemonugg black friday salehttp://zs1.edu.pl/2016/ugg-black-friday-sales/beats by dre black friday 2016 ukbeats by dre black friday sale canada Client: Gebrüder Thonet Vienna GmbH Left to Right – N3 Counter Stool, N1 Dining Chair, N2 Lounge Chair The N2 Lounge is being used at El Cellar de Can Roca, Spain. Project designed by Sandra Tarruella. Client: Mogg Srl (Italy)The queues of tourists buying UGG Australia boots at shops in the CBD should be congratulated for supporting American industry, as UGG Australia is a trademark owned by US-based Deckers Corporation. Deckers is suing Australian Leather Pty Ltd in the US for using the word "ugg" to describe its ugg boots that are being sold in overseas markets.
The Australian ugg manufacturing industry, joined by South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon, is crying foul. It may not be pretty, but it is fair: the US company is actually playing by the rules, and is likely to prevail.How can the word ugg be trademarked by any company? The answer lies in the difference between language and culture, as it applies to business. Both Australia and the US use English as their main language, but each country has its own unique cultural terms like ugg, which are not used in the other. While the Macquarie dictionary includes the term ugg as meaning a fleece-lined boot with an untanned upper, the word appears in neither the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the main US dictionary, nor Britain's Oxford dictionary. The Australian word ugg is said to be derived from the word ugly, and appeared in Australian slang, but not elsewhere, in the surfer culture of the 1960s and '70s.The predominant international law here is the TRIPS agreement, to which Australia became a party in 1995.
That agreement stipulates that visible markers of a brand are eligible for trademark protection, as long as those signs are not well-known in that country. So a firm cannot register a trademark for the word "chair," for example, because that word is well known throughout the English-speaking world. But countries that have the same language can still have different cultural terms like ugg. The Californian company "Ugg Imports" first filed a trademark registration of the term in the US in 1984. At that time, the Australian term ugg was not well known in the US, so it qualified for protection there. Deckers acquired the company in 1995, and now owns the UGG trademark in more than 120 countries outside of Australia and New Zealand. So even though the Australian manufacturers argue that the boots originated in Australia, Deckers does legitimately own the trademark in most of the world's consumer markets, and can therefore legally prevent anyone else from using that term, just as Billabong or Qantas can prevent competitors from using their trademarked names.
Why didn't the Australian ugg industry trademark the term in other countries? In the 1970s, the ugg manufacturing industry was a cottage industry, with surf enthusiasts selling the boots in small shops or out of trucks at the beach. The fragmented nature of the industry meant that few retailers were paying attention to global markets, and retail markets in general were far less globalised. To Australian firms, the word ugg was a generic word, so protecting the term as a form of competitive advantage in overseas markets just did not occur to anyone. It was also a much more complex and costly process to register for trademark protection in other countries than it is today, which may have further impeded such action by an Australian industry comprised of small individual proprietors. By the time the ugg boot fashion exploded on the global scene, Deckers already owned the trademark on the term, as well as related terms like "Ughs," and it was too late for Australian firms.Activists on behalf of the Australian industry have argued that France can legally prevent sparkling wine from being called champagne, so Australia should be able to similarly protect the word "ugg".
These arguments misunderstand the different tools used to protect intellectual property. The word champagne is protected as a geographical indicator, and it refers to a product from the Champagne region of France, just as Modena Balsamic vinegar refers to balsamic vinegar that comes from the Modena province of Italy. By contrast, there is no state or region in Australia called Ugg that is famous for making ugg boots, so that argument does not apply.The two sides are looking at this from different perspectives. The OECD estimates the worldwide value of counterfeit goods to be nearly half a trillion US dollars per year, a figure that worries any company whose products are subject to counterfeiting. Deckers is, from its perspective, acting legitimately to protect its brand value. Australian firms argue that uggs are a generic type of boot, originating in Australia. Both sides are correct, but international law is on the side of the US company.Is Deckers being "nice" by suing small Australian businesses?