A QUICK fix to the trans-Pacific fight over ugg boots is unlikely with the US footwear company digging in its sheepskin cushioned heels. California-based Deckers Corporation yesterday said it had earned the right to call the Australian outcast-turned fashion item its very own. Deckers vowed it would continue to crackdown on any rivals using it's "uggs" trademark registered in Australia, the US and Europe. The company's subsidiary, Ugg Holdings, bought the trademark from pioneering Sydney manufacturer Shane Steadman in the 1970s. Intellectual property and copyright lawyer Jane Owen, who is representing two local manufacturers, sent a letter to Deckers 11 days ago refuting that NSW businesses must drop the tag. Ms Owen put a reply deadline date of next Wednesday but is yet to hear from Deckers. US lawyer Tom Fitzsimons said Ugg Holdings had created a worldwide brand with its ugg boot line. "We have no intention of putting anybody out of business or preventing anyone from selling sheepskin boots," he said. "But we will stop companies from trading on the goodwill of our brand name that was built over decades." Brian Iversen, whose fam ily has run Blue Mountains Ugg Boots since 1933, said no one had bothered to register the name because it was regarded as a generic term



