Heartbreaking update on iconic Australian company ‘Ugg’ – as owner issues message to loyal customers

By CAITLIN POWELL FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 06:58 BST, 14 May 2025 | Updated: 07:46 BST, 14 May 2025

The owner of an iconic Australian family business has opened up about the stress of an ongoing legal battle with a US footwear distributor.

Ugg Since 1974 was forced to drop ‘UGG’ from its name after Deckers Outdoor Corporation bought the rights from entrepreneur Brian Smith.

The businessman had registered the name in the US in the 1970s, around the same time the sheepskin products were launched by an Australian couple.

Current owner Tod Watts, announced that while the legal process is still underway, the company had been handed back its social media accounts under the handle ‘UGG since 1974’ after they were disabled for almost a year following a complaint. 

‘Things have been really stressful for us here. Litigation is still ongoing and it’s been tough on a small family business,’ he said.

‘Some huge news that we have for you is that Meta has reinstated both our Facebook and Instagram accounts that’s under the handle at UGG Since 1974.

‘Those accounts were disabled for almost 12 months due to a complaint from our US competitor, removing our voice to our Australian and New Zealand followers.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Deckers for comment.

Owner of Australian family business ‘Since 1974’ Tod Watts (pictured) has said their brand was made to remove ‘UGG’ from the name after an American company bought the rights

Deckers Outdoor Corporation owns the trademarks for Ugg in more than 25 countries, bar Australia or New Zealand, which means sellers cannot call them that name overseas

Arthur and Faye Watts started handcrafting the sheepskin products in a shed in a coastal town in New South Wales, where they quickly gained popularity.

Their grandson, Tod, acquired UGG Since 1974 in the 1990s and now owns and operates the business with his wife Hannah in the Gold Coast.

He revealed the company was being sued by Deckers in January this year. 

‘We also own the trademark here in Australia and New Zealand where the boots originated – where ugg boots originated,’ he said.

‘But the Deckers lawsuit has made it hard to share our story and our boots with everyone else within the world. 

‘It’s extremely hard to fight a lawsuit against a multi-billion dollar company, especially as a family-owned, Australian-made business.’

Mr Watts said that, because of the lawsuit, they had decided to transition the brand to ‘SINCE 74’ for boots exported overseas.

In Australia and New Zealand the brand would still be called UGG Since 1974.

UGG Since 1974 was started by a New South Wales couple in the 1970s who handcrafted the sheepskin products in a shed (an UGG store in Las Vegas is pictured)

Deckers sells the boots under the ‘ugg’ trademark in the US and sells the ‘UGG brand distinguished by a larger typeface ‘G’ in the middle.

It has argued in the past that Americans don’t use ‘ugg’ as a descriptive term, but only as a brand name.

The corporation, which is recognised for brands including Hoka and Teva, owns the trademarks for Ugg in more than 25 countries, but not in Australia or New Zealand.

This means manufacturers from the two countries have been barred for decades  from describing and selling ugg boots as ‘ugg boots’ overseas.

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Heartbreaking update on iconic Australian company ‘Ugg’ – as owner issues message to loyal customers

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