Victoria Beckham reportedly trademarked all of her children’s names, which could impact Brooklyn amid the ongoing feud with his parents.
Brooklyn is the oldest of the Beckham children, having been born in 1999 while his father, David, was playing for Manchester United and his mother, Victoria, was a member of the Spice Girls.
Romeo, Cruz, and Harper were then born in 2002, 2005, and 2011, respectively.
And the family appeared to be a close-knit bunch before rumours of a feud surfaced, which Brooklyn confirmed in a bombshell statement posted to Instagram on Monday (January 19).
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In the lengthy post, he accused his parents of disrespecting his wife, Nicola Peltz, while suggesting Victoria sabotaged the couple’s first dance.
The 26-year-old, who does “not want to reconcile” with his parents, also claimed that they “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”.
Brooklyn then said his “holdout” impacted “the payday” which dealt a further blow to his rocky relationship with David and Victoria.
What is a trademark?
A trademark, according to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), protects a name or brand so that other businesses cannot use or profit from its use.
The Beckham trademark products include cosmetics, books, toys, goods, services, and clothing, among others.
As reported by ITV, all four of the Beckham children’s names were trademarked on behalf of their mother in 2017. The trademark for each name is set to expire in December 2026
So, what does this mean for Brooklyn and the other three Beckham children?
According to Beyond Corporate’s Head of Commercial Law, James Corlett, signing over your name can impact the financial benefits associated with the trademarked name.
"David and Victoria Beckham could not have prevented Brooklyn from using his name as his personal identity,” Corlett explained.
“Under UK law, individuals have strong rights to use their own name, regardless of how commercially valuable a family surname may be.
"However, the legal picture changes when trademarks are involved. DB Ventures Limited owns registered trademarks for ‘BECKHAM’ across clothing, fragrances, and other merchandise, and has built significant commercial goodwill around that brand."
Corlett then explained how the company could effectively stop Brooklyn from using ‘BECKHAM’ in commercial activities.
He added: “Those trademark rights mean the company could legitimately prevent Brooklyn from using 'Beckham' as a standalone commercial brand in ways that conflict with existing registrations.
“But without a signed agreement assigning or limiting his rights, that control goes no further.
"In short: the Beckhams may own the brand – but they do not own their son’s name."
If Brooklyn wanted the rights to his name back but his mother objected, this would likely result in a hearing through the IPO rather than the courts.
Brooklyn Beckham explosive statement in full
"I have been silent for years and made every effort to keep these matters private. Unfortunately, my parents and their team have continued to go to the press, leaving me with no choice but to speak for myself and tell the truth about only some of the lies that have been printed.
"I do not want to reconcile with my family. I'm not being controlled, I'm standing up for myself for the first time in my life. For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family. The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into.
"Recently, I have seen with my own eyes the lengths that they'll go through to place countless lies in the media, mostly at the expense of innocent people, to preserve their own facade. But I believe the truth always comes out.
"My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn't stopped. My mum cancelled making Nicola's dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress.
"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.
"They were adamant on me signing before my wedding date because then the terms of the deal would be initiated. My holdout affected the payday, and they have never treated me the same since.
"During the wedding planning, my mum went so far as to call me "evil" because Nicola and I chose to include my Nanny Sandra, and Nicola's Naunni at our table, because they both didn't have their husbands. Both of our parents had their own tables equally adjacent to ours.
"The night before our wedding, members of my family told me that Nicola was "not blood" and "not family." Since the moment I started standing up for myself with my family, I've received endless attacks from my parents, both privately and publicly, that were sent to the press on their orders.
"Even my brothers were sent to attack me on social media, before they ultimately blocked me out of nowhere this last Summer.
"My mum hijacked my first dance with my wife, which had been planned weeks in advance to a romantic love song. In front of our 500 wedding guests, Marc Anthony called me to the stage, where in the schedule was planned to be my romantic dance with my wife but instead my mum was waiting to dance with me instead.
"She danced very inappropriately on me in front of everyone. I've never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life. We wanted to renew our vows so we could create new memories of our wedding day that bring us joy and happiness, not anxiety and embarrassment.
"My wife has been consistently disrespected by my family, no matter how hard we've tried to come together as one. My mum has repeatedly invited women from my past into our lives in ways that were clearly intended to make us both uncomfortable.
"Despite this, we still travelled to London for my dad's birthday and were rejected for a week as we waited in our hotel room trying to plan quality time with him. He refused all of our attempts, unless it was at his big birthday party with a hundred guests and cameras at every corner.
"When he finally agreed to see me, it was under the condition that Nicola wasn't invited. It was a slap in the face. Later, when my family travelled to LA, they refused to see me at all.
"My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first. Family "love" is decided by how much you post on social media, or how quickly you drop everything to show up and pose for a family photo opp, even if it's at the expense of our professional obligations.
"We've gone out of our way for years to show up and support at every fashion show, every party, and every press activity to show 'our perfect family.' But the one time my wife asked for my mum's support to save displaced dogs during the LA fires, my mum refused.
The narrative that my wife controls me is completely backwards. I have been controlled by my parents for most of my life. I grew up with overwhelming anxiety. For the first time in my life, since stepping away from my family, that anxiety has disappeared.
"I wake up every morning grateful for the life I chose, and have found peace and relief. My wife and I do not want a life shaped by image, press, or manipulation. All we want peace, privacy and happiness for us and our future family."
Topics: David Beckham
Luke Davies