The 'David and Goliath battle' over iconic Aussie Ugg boots
At this time of year, many of us are wearing them but few of us know of the giant legal battle involving them.
Ugg boots are as Australian as Victor lawnmowers and the Hills Hoist clothes line.
But somewhere along the line, the humble sheepskin-lined boot lost its identity.
Ugg boots are an Australian icon. A Current Affair
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And therein lies the legal battle that will see an Australian Ugg boot maker take legal action in the United States Supreme Court.
In western Sydney, Eddie Oyger has been making the boots for 40 years.
He and other Aussie Ugg makers once sold their snug boots to the world.
Western Sydney Ugg boot maker Eddie Oyger. A Current Affair
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But a few years back a big American multinational company bought the naming rights to sell Ugg boots to every country except Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Oyger and others lost a huge market and now Mr Oyger is taking on that company, Deckers, in America's highest court to overturn that trademark and allow Australia to once again sell Uggs around the globe.
"It's not only my fight," Mr Oyger said.
Aussie Ugg makers once sold their snug boots to the world. A Current Affair
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"It's for Australia. The French got champagne and the Greeks got feta recognised as generic products of their countries only to be sold there, so why not Uggs?"
Former politician and now lawyer Nick Xenophon agrees.
"This is a David and Goliath battle, this is about what we are as a country," he said.
Nick Xenaphone. A Current Affair
So Mr Xenophon is helping Mr Oyger in his legal fight in the Supreme Court but is also calling on the Australian Government to step in and help.
"This is something that belongs to Australia was created in Australia yet an American company got this trademark when they shouldn't have," Mr Xenophon said.
So far Mr Oyger has spent millions in various legal battles fighting to save Uggs from being lost.
Once Australia had more than 70 Ugg makers employing thousands of people.
Western Sydney Ugg boot maker Eddie Oyger is taking a stand. A Current Affair
Today there are just a handful of Ugg boot makers left.
The foreign-sold Uggs, Mr Oyger says, are made in China and other locations with far inferior product.
After many years of financial and personal heartache to save the beloved Aussie-made Ugg that keeps our feet warm every winter, Mr Oyger believes this last stand is truly worth it.
"I might lose everything I have ... but at least I know I have done something right," he said.
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