Monday, April 14, 2024 – 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.'
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