Featured Image Credit: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
Topics: Brooklyn Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Celebrity
Ben Williams
Topics: Brooklyn Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Celebrity
If you thought the Beckham family headlines couldn’t get any messier, the latest twist isn’t coming from a vague source or a shady wedding rumour. It’s coming from trademark filings.
Brooklyn Beckham’s recent Instagram posts have dragged the Beckham brand back into the spotlight, with the 26-year-old alleging his parents tried to push him into signing an agreement that would have restricted or transferred the commercial rights to his own name.
Brooklyn claimed the pressure ramped up in the weeks leading to his 2022 wedding.
He wrote: “Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which would have affected me, my wife, and our future children.”
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Meanwhile, legal docs show Victoria Beckham has registered trademarks for all four of her children’s names — Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper — covering categories from fashion and beauty to entertainment, as Tyla has previously reported.
That all sounds like standard wild celebrity brand-protection, until you realise only three of the four can actually try to take control back right now.
This is because Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz can challenge the registrations as adults, but Harper (aged 14) can’t because she is under 18.
To start, as to what ‘challenging’ a trademark even means, legal experts have pointed out that an adult can dispute a registration — including on grounds of non-use — which would require the trademark owner to show the name has actually been used commercially for the goods and services it’s registered under. Any challenge would likely be handled through the Intellectual Property Office, and it would be very public.
On the other hand, trademarks do not equal ownership of someone’s identity.
Beyond Corporate’s Head of Commercial Law James Corlett explained in Brooklyn’s case: “David and Victoria Beckham could not have prevented Brooklyn from using his name as his personal identity. Under UK law, individuals have strong rights to use their own name, regardless of how commercially valuable a family surname may be.”
He added: “In short: the Beckhams may own the brand – but they do not own their son’s name.”
Because Harper is still a minor, she cannot independently start the same kind of formal challenge her brothers can. Until she turns 18, her name remains tied to the existing registrations, and any move to reclaim control is effectively on pause.