09 May 2024 , 05:55
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David Beckham has kicked off another mega-money legal battle against hundreds of online sellers accused of flogging fake versions of his designer products, it has been claimed.
The 49-year-old former football star has his name plastered on many products, including clothing, fragrances, accessories, sunglasses, video games and more - and he has had enough of people riding on the back of his name. He is hoping to follow the lead of wife Victoria Beckham, who last month won her claim against counterfeit websites selling rip off goods.
David is also the director of DB Ventures which is said to be seeking up to almost £800,000 from the supposed scammers who he accuses of selling via sites including Amazon, eBay Etsy and Temu. It has been claimed his firm is being backed by its rights management company Authentic Brands Group and they want £1.6million from 492 defendants named in two lawsuits.
Court papers seen by The Sun state they have “maliciously” duped people into thinking they were buying Becks' official items. In April, the mega star's team won a £240million case in the same court against dozens of criminals but was awarded a total of £352,000. MirrorOnline have contacted David's reps.
Both David and Victoria both have recent success against counterfeiters (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
They have been flogging fake versions of his aftershave (PA)A source told the publication: “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.”
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Former Spice Girl Victoria recently took action following the appearance of almost 50 websites, all of them calling themselves 'victoriabeckhambeauty'. Posh had not given the OK to them using her trademark or images that had been copyrighted by the star years ago. The fashion guru filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organisation and Mediation Centre at the start of the year, MailOnline report.
The verdict has now been delivered and things went in Victoria's favour, decision makers recording that the sites 'copied the look and feel' of the mum-of-four's official website. The four women and two men who had registered the websites declined the opportunity to respond to Victoria's complaint, it has been reported. The WIPO were therefore given little other option but to conclude that their activities "constitute a pattern of abusive conduct of bad faith".
The ordered the domain names to be transferred to her after hearing evidence that what the group were selling was "most likely counterfeit goods". It was an early birthday present for the star, who is preparing the celebrate turning 50 next week with husband David, 48, and her children.
This isn't the first time Victoria has taken action after seeing something she isn't happy with. Staggeringly, the star apparently tried to stop historic football club Peterborough United using their nickname 'The Posh' back in 2002 - despite the team being known by that moniker for most of their existence.