Victoria Beckham trademarked Brooklyn’s birth name – what does that mean?

By Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association Entertainment Reporter

Brooklyn Peltz Beckham’s birth name was trademarked on behalf of his mother, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.

After Brooklyn made multiple allegations about his parents on Monday evening, including that they prioritise ‘Brand Beckham’ over family, many have speculated what this could mean for the 26-year-old and the rights to his name.

– What has Lady Beckham done on behalf of her children?

According to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), a trademark is a distinctive sign that differentiates goods and services from other competitors.

It can be used to protect a name or brand so that other businesses cannot use it.

Brooklyn, and his three siblings, Romeo, Cruz and Harper Beckham, all had their birth names registered with the IPO in 2017, with the trademark covering a wide range of goods and services including cosmetics, books, clothing and toys.

That means if they want to use their names to brand those goods and services they need to go through Lady Beckham first, as she owns the rights.

The trademark registration is up for renewal in December 2026, which could give Brooklyn the opportunity to reclaim the rights if Lady Beckham does not renew it.

– Is it common to have a name trademarked?

According to Alex Taylor, partner in the Intellectual Property, Commercial and Technology team at Withers, it has become more popular to trade mark names in recent years.

He said: “It’s becoming even more common now especially in the last few years, where you have people, celebrities, sports stars, athletes.

“Once you have your name registered as a mark, it gives far more control over your brand.”

– How easy would it be for Brooklyn to get the rights back?

Mr Taylor said: “I think it depends on how willing Victoria, the owner of his name or the trade mark of his name, is to either enter into some type of co-existence agreement or to agree a licence with it. That, I think, is the most simple way of doing it.

“If they want to maintain any type of relationship moving forward, then that would seem to me to most obvious way of doing it.

“However, if there is genuine animosity between the pair and Victoria and David are set on controlling the name and see value in it moving forward, then I think it will be more difficult.

“It will be hard and very expensive to try to litigate this.”

– What would happen if Brooklyn requested the rights back?

If Brooklyn requested for the rights to his name to be passed over, and Lady Beckham objected, there could be a hearing.

Nick Aries, intellectual property partner at Bird & Bird, said it does not necessarily mean it is the “end of the line” for Brooklyn.

He said: “There may be scope to challenge the validity of those registrations if they are misleading, for example, if they imply a commercial connection with Brooklyn that no longer exists. His contract with his parents might limit his ability to bring such a challenge, but someone else could.

“Another angle might be to challenge the ownership on the basis that Victoria is listed as holding the marks ‘as parent or guardian’ – which stopped being the case once Brooklyn turned 18.”

– Could Brooklyn take legal action?

Dr Luke McDonagh, associate professor of law at the London School of Economics, said Brooklyn could have three potential legal grounds on whether he could potentially sue his mother.

The first is he could pursue a passing off claim if his mother used his name to endorse products he has no connection to.

Dr McDonagh said: “The trade mark was registered in Victoria’s name as parent and guardian of Brooklyn Beckham.

“If Victoria uses the mark – his name – in ways that mislead consumers into believing Brooklyn endorses products he has no connection to, he could pursue a passing off claim similar to Rihanna’s successful action against Topshop in 2015 when her image was used without permission.

“The UK has no standalone personality rights, so protecting one’s name depends on either trade mark registration or proving misrepresentation through passing off.”

Brooklyn could also present a challenge on bad faith.

He said: “The trade mark was filed by Victoria as Brooklyn’s guardian – when he was a minor.

“While there is no UK case law directly addressing parent/guardian bad faith challenges, Brooklyn could argue by analogy that the registration was made not for legitimate trade mark purposes but to control his commercial identity.

“The challenge would be whether this guardianship relationship, combined with lack of genuine commercial use by Victoria, demonstrates the kind of improper purpose that constitutes bad faith under the law. It’s an untested legal argument, but the concerns are compelling.”

Finally, despite the trade mark registration being under Lady Beckham’s name, Brooklyn retains the right under the Trade Marks Act to use his own name in business, under the conditions that he does so honestly.

Dr McDonagh said: “The law recognises that individuals should not be entirely prevented from using their own names commercially. However, ‘honest practices’ means he cannot use it to deliberately create confusion or free ride on any goodwill Victoria may have built in the trade mark.

“The complexity here is that Victoria registered as his guardian and as the proprietor herself – so technically Brooklyn may need to navigate using his own birth name in his own honest commercial practices while respecting her registered trade mark rights.”