David Beckham has won a massive £240million legal battle against several counterfeiters who were selling fake versions of his designer gear online.
The former football legend, 48, who is the director of DB Ventures 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.’
The paperwork filed in the US also claimed the dodgy sales ‘erode the brand’s reputation’ and cost 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 permanent by the judge.
Additionally, DB Venture’s motion for a default judgment against 44 defendants was granted, awarding £8,000 for each infringement.
However, the total award of £352,000 is significantly lower than the £ 240 million 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.
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.’
