The Beckham Family Feud: A Trademarked Dispute

The most talked-about Instagram story of 2026 has already been posted. Brooklyn Peltz Beckham delivered a stunning airing of the feud that has estranged him from his parents, David and Victoria Beckham. It included the unusual allegation from Brooklyn that his parents sought to pressure him into “signing away the rights to his name” shortly before his wedding in 2022.

The Trademark Dispute

Brooklyn did not specify what exactly that entailed, but a search of filings at the UK Intellectual Property Office reveals that Victoria, acting in her capacity as parent or guardian, previously registered her son’s name as a trademark in the UK in 2016, when he was 17. CBC News reports the registration covered seven separate classes, including the commercial employ of his name in products as diverse as cosmetics, deodorants, Christmas cards, sunglasses, paper towels, wash bags, jigsaw puzzles, toy aeroplanes, bouncy castles, and songwriting.

Brooklyn’s previous registration, which is due to expire in December 2026, was made alongside similar registrations for his siblings, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper.

Beyond the Beckhams: Celebrity Trademarks in Sports and Entertainment

The question of celebrity trademarks, still, did not start with Brooklyn and Victoria Beckham, and its tentacles reach far beyond showbiz and into the world of sports. Victoria’s first major trademark battle came 24 years earlier when she squabbled over who should have the right to use the term ‘Posh’. Her argument was that she became globally known as Posh, or Posh Spice, ever since the Spice Girls rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Yet Peterborough United, then a third division English soccer team, filed to trademark the word in 1998 to exploit merchandising opportunities. The team had been referred to as “The Posh” since the 1920s, yet Beckham challenged the registration, with her publicity company quoted by the BBC as saying “the name is inexorably associated with Victoria Beckham in the public’s mind”.

Peterborough fought the argument, with chief executive Geoff Davey warning that his club, which was then up for sale for only £1.5million ($2m), risked severe financial losses without access to the trademark. Beckham withdrew and Peterborough maintain the trademark to this day.

That episode underlined an important consideration for celebrities, athletes, or an entity to consider before filing a trademark application. Their name, or nickname, might be the centre of the universe they inhabit, but when applying for a trademark, this can come with pitfalls.

Recent Trademark Challenges

Consider, for example, the difficulty the Chelsea and England international Cole Palmer encountered when he filed a series of trademarks, including for his name ‘Cole Palmer’, as well as his nickname, ‘Cold Palmer’, for which he has grow associated due to his composed finishing in front of goal. There was a challenge from a French winery, Chateau Palmer, a French winemaker with over a century’s worth of history, which argued it had been selling wine long before Cole Palmer was known to the world. As such, it would be unjust for Chelsea’s Palmer to be permitted exclusivity over a trademark in the wine category. Palmer needed to remove wine from his application, and it was then approved in 16 classes, which means the Cold Palmer brand can be commercially used to sell products as diverse as soaps, vitamins, beard trimmers, jewellery, drones, mopeds, balloons, coffee and beer.

Palmer then went one step further, deciding to trademark his celebration. This is described in the filing as having “his arms crossed across his torso, performing a shivering motion by rubbing his hands up and down his upper arms repeatedly” and it has an accompanying video.

Kylian Mbappe has previously trademarked his folded-arms goal celebration as a figurative trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, as well as his name and initials. Usain Bolt, the retired eight-time Olympic sprint champion, trademarked his celebration for classes that included footwear, sunglasses and jewellery in the United States and Europe. In 2023, a year after scoring in the Women’s European Championship final for England against Germany, Ella Toone became the first English women’s player to trademark her brand, ET7, and her name to leverage her commercial potential. She recently signed a £1.5m deal with Nike.

Lionel Messi fought for almost a decade to register his trademark in Europe as a sportswear brand. The Spanish cycling company Massi argued the brand names would be too similar in name, which convinced the European Union Intellectual Property Office, but was overruled by the EU’s General Court. Cristiano Ronaldo has trademarked his name, his initials, and his famous CR7 brand, but in the U.S., he encountered a challenge when he sought to bring CR7 underwear into the market. That was since an American named Christopher Renzi, who had advertised a seven-minute fitness workout, previously held the trademark for CR7, using it for jeans and T-shirts, and he launched a legal suit in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island when Ronaldo entered the market.

The Importance of Trademark Ownership

Sophie Wilkinson, a partner at Onside Law, specialising in commercial, intellectual property and data protection, tells The Independent: “One thing we say to clients is just because it’s your name does not make it straightforward… Even if you think you are that famous, there may be somebody who has done something in the past or in a specific field, who could bring a challenge. It’s not plain sailing for athletes despite them often having so much power in other settings.”

Stars including Harry Kane and Erling Haaland have trademarks registered in the UK. Marcus Rashford’s investment vehicle, MUCS Enterprises Limited, had his name, initials, signature and the logo of his ‘book club’ registered, following the publication of books aimed at the children’s market. Rashford also filed and then withdrew an application to have the slogan “Take pride in knowing that your struggle will play the biggest role in your purpose” registered as a trademark.

Arsenal’s Declan Rice has not personally registered any trademarks but he has served as a brand ambassador for the dairy company Muller, who registered Rice Rice Baby. Teams are also seeking to trademark motivational marketing slogans or fan chants. Tottenham Hotspur trademarked the fan chant “One of our own”, while Chelsea Women trademarked the term “Unapologetically Ambitious”.

Manchester United have trademarked the term “Theatre of Dreams”, while Manchester City have trademarked terms such as “Blue Moon” and “93:20”. Liverpool have registered trademarks for phrases such as “Let’s talk about six Baby”.

According to Wilkinson, “It is a way of monetising, controlling and dictating the way in which your name is used.” She adds, “It’s also another way to secure different revenue streams, while providing legal certainty.”