David Beckham has reportedly started a new £1billion legal fight against 500 sellers accused of flogging fake versions of his designer products.
The former footballer, 49, has put his name to various businesses and brands during his impressive career away from the pitch including clothing, fragrances, accessories, sunglasses, video games and more.
And now he has launched this mega-money legal battle to stamp out counterfeiters by online sellers – mostly in Asia – who are profiting off his name and brands.
DB Ventures, which looks after his deals, has launched two lawsuits in the US, according to The Sun.
He is targeting selling via sites including Amazon, Etsy and Temu which he claims are flogging fake versions of his gear.
David Beckham has reportedly started a new £1billion legal fight against 500 sellers accused of flogging fake versions of his designer products
The former footballer, 49, has put his name to various businesses and brands during his impressive career away from the pitch including clothing, fragrances, accessories, sunglasses, video games and more (seen promoting Eyewear by David Beckham)
It has been claimed his firm is being backed by its rights management company Authentic Brands Group and they want £1.6million from each of the 492 defendants named in two lawsuits.
A source said: ‘Authentic brands want to stamp out this issue and stop people from selling fakes of David’s products.
‘They pride themselves on the quality of their products and people are being ripped off without their knowledge. They think they have a good case.’
A representative for David has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
Court papers seen by the publication reportedly state the sellers have ‘maliciously’ conned people into thinking they were buying official items from David Beckham brands.
Last month David won a massive £240million legal battle in the same US court against several counterfeiters in the first of the lawsuits.
The complaint said: ‘Their sale poses a real threat to DBV’s brand, and affects the sustainability of its business.
‘It also affects individuals and companies who unwittingly purchase them.’
The paperwork filed in the US also claimed the dodgy sales ‘erode the brand’s reputation’ and costs the company ‘considerable lost sales and harm’.
And now he has launched this mega-money legal battle to stamp out counterfeiters by online sellers – mostly in Asia – who are profiting off his name and brands
In paperwork filed in the US claims the dodgy sales ‘erode the brand’s reputation’ and costs the company ‘considerable lost sales and harm’
Last summer a temporary injunction and asset freeze were granted to Becks, which have now been made permeant by the judge.
Additionally, DB Venture’s motion for a default judgement against 44 defendants was granted, awarding £8,000 for each infringement.
However, the total award of £352,000 is significantly lower than the £240million sought by Beckham’s team from the 15 firms collectively.
The former England captain will be happy to know that the counterfeiters are required to stop selling and forfeit any profits they accumulated.
DB Ventures enlisted the expertise of trademark specialists, The Sladkus Law Group, to put an end to the illicit sales.
In the filing, partner Jeffrey Sladkus explained that tracking the sites was challenging due to their lack of accurate address or phone number information.
He emphasized that legal threats were the sole effective method to halt their activities.
Beckham allegedly sold a 55 per cent stake in the firm to Authentic Brands in 2022 for £200million, despite the company’s profitable turnover doubling to £72million in the same year.
The company owns fashion brands Juicy Couture and Forever 21.
A source previously told the publication: ‘Authentic Brands want to crack down on people making cash from flogging goods with David’s name attached to it.
‘David and the team pride themselves on the quality of what they sell, including their clothes and fragrances, and they don’t want people being unwittingly ripped off when they buy a fake.’
It comes after reports that DB Ventures paid a valued ‘mystery employee’ a £10million salary in 2022, according to The Mirror.
But the company reportedly refused to say if the big bucks went to the Man United legend or someone else.
The accounts allegedly only revealed that the big payout was made to the highest-paid director.
This left the possible rich man to be a choice between Becks, Jamie Salter and Nick Woodhouse.
A spokesman for Beckham told the publication at the time: ‘I’m afraid we won’t be disclosing who the highest-paid director is.’
But the former athlete is not the only star to have cracked down on alleged copyright infringements.
In 2021, Kanye West sued American superstore Walmart after accusing them of selling knockoffs of his foam Yeezy shoes.
The lawsuit claimed that Walmart could cost the billionaire rapper ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ in sales as the cheaper versions were easily confused with the genuine Foam Runners.
‘Consumers are purchasing the imitation Yeezy Foam Runner footwear from Walmart on the mistaken belief that the shoes are associated with West and the Yeezy Brand,’ the filing stated.
DB Ventures, which looks after his deals, has launched two lawsuits in the US, according to The Sun
David is married to fashion designer Victoria. They share four children: Brooklyn, 25, Cruz, 19, Romeo, 21, and Harper, 12
The real Yeezy Foam Runners were introduced in June 2020 and the £60 shoes sold out immediately.
Their resale value ranged from £200 to £640, but the alleged knockoffs were listed for just £20 to £30 on the Walmart website.
‘The product referenced in the complaint is not sold by Walmart, but rather by third party marketplace sellers,’ a Walmart spokesperson told TMZ about the faux Runners.
‘We take allegations like this seriously and are reviewing the claim. We will respond in court as appropriate after we have been served with the complaint.’
