Trademarks and Competitiveness in the Global Ugg Boot Industry, 1979- 2017

Abstract

When intellectual property (IP) is covered in the international business literature, it usually focuses on competitive advantages conferred upon a firm or industry by new technology. Less discussed is the historical role of intellectual property, particularly when the intellectual property giving the competitive advantage is not new. This study considers the impact on competitive advantage of culturally distinctive, but not new, IP through the lens of the Australia-US battle over the UGG boot trademark. Court documents and trademark applications from 1984 to 2017 indicate that Australian firms underestimated the cultural differences between the US and Australia, and thus failed to adequately protect the generic word “ugg” in foreign markets where it was considered to be distinctive, rather than generic. The in-depth analysis of the development of the UGG brand highlights the importance of intangible barriers in global business. The impact on the competitive advantage these intangible barriers gave US firms over Australian firms in the worldwide sheepskin boot market is discussed.