Australian opponents of Deckers argue that the term ‘uggs on sale’ has been used widely in Australian from as far back as 1920’s. One might, therefore, imply that as a result the term is generic. Media reports have also claimed that no-one bothered to register the trade mark in the past as the term was so obviously generic. To establish if a term is generic, however, you need to show that the word or phrase is or has come to be a common term associated with a particular category of goods or services to which it relates.

The question then is - does the term Uggs boots on sale have the capacity to distinguish the goods of one ‘ugg’ boot producing company from another? In Westinghouse Electric Corporation v Thermopart Pty Ltd[1] the word ‘Laundromat’ had become a generic term – that is, no longer specific to one particular washing machine company, Westinghouse, who produced washing machines called ‘Laundromat’. The Court analysed various forms of evidence, including magazine and television shows which suggested that the term had taken on a general meaning. In the end, the Court held that the evidence was in fact “flimsy” and that the word ‘Laundromat’ had not achieved generic meaning. This means that Westinghouse, who had registered the trade mark ‘laundromat’,could succeed in stopping others from using the term in trade as a trade mark.