David Beckham has won a massive £240million legal battle against several counterfeiters who were found to be selling fake versions of his designer gear online, it emerged last night.
The former football legend, 48, who has put his name to clothing, fragrances, and accessories, is the director of DB Ventures which had been seeking a staggering £1.58billion from 150 internet sellers.
Case files revealed the fraudsters were selling the fake goods on sites including Amazon, eBay, and Etsy by firms or individuals based in China or elsewhere in Asia.
These items consisted of designer clothing, footwear, perfume, hair and body products, posters, footballs, video games, eyewear, jewellery, and watches.
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.’
+8
David Beckham has reportedly won a massive £240million lawsuit against several online fraudsters who were flogging fake versions of his designer gear
+8
The ex-footie ace will be happy to know that the counterfeiters are required to stop selling and forfeit any profits they accumulated
+8
The former footballer, 48, who has put his name to clothing, fragrances and accessories was seeking a whopping £1.58million from each seller
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’.
But now after almost three months since initiating legal action, Beckham has won the case, according to The Sun.
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 emphasised 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.
+8
The fake goods consisted of designer clothing, footwear, perfume, hair and body products, posters, footballs, video games, eyewear, jewellery, and watches
+8
In paperwork filed in the US claims the dodgy sales ‘erode the brand’s reputation’ and costs the company ‘considerable lost sales and harm’
+8
Case files revealed the fraudsters were selling the fake goods on sites including Amazon, eBay, and Etsy by firms or individuals based in China or elsewhere in Asia
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.
+8
Kanye West sued Walmart for allegedly ripping off his Yeezy Foam Runner shoes in 2021
+8
His legal team noted that the Yeezy brand is worth ‘billions’ of dollars and the imitation shoe could result in the loss of ‘hundreds of millions’ of dollars
‘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.
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.’
