What's the deal with companies selling ugg boots from Australia?

I get this question a lot, because it is quite confusing.

When Brian Smith came to the USA in the late 1970's, the term 'ugg' was essentially unknown here except for the few American surfers who had traveled down under and picked up some for themselves. In Australia and New Zealand, the word 'ugg' is a generic term that means 'sheepskin boot'.

So Brian, upon arrival in the US, trademarked the name 'UGG' here. Flash forward a few decades, Deckers Outdoor takes over, and with the huge success of the product, Australian manufacturers wanted to get into the action. They argued successfully in an Australian court that the word 'ugg' is generic and cannot be trademarked in that country. Hence, today, we have a ton of companies online selling 'ugg boots' not made by the trademark owner in the USA (and most other countries), confusing the heck out of people. They can't legally sell their products from these shores, but continue to do so online until google or someone figures out a way to not show those ads in the US market.

So are these Australian made sheepskin boots uggs or not? Depends on how you look at it. In the USA and Europe, they most certainly are not. In Australia, they are.