It’s Brooklyn v The Beckhams: The trade mark questions behind the fallout
21st January 2026
“The Beckham family dispute has highlighted questions around the trade mark registration BROOKLYN BECKHAM, and whether Brooklyn is free to use his own name commercially. With the existing trade mark sitting in Victoria Beckham’s name and due for renewal this year, the situation raises important considerations about ownership, use and rights to personal names.”
There’s no escaping that the latest celebrity family feud to hit the UK features the Beckham family. Unfortunately, it seems like there has been a falling out between the famous Beckhams and their eldest son Brooklyn.
Amongst other reasons, in a recent statement, Brooklyn cited his parent’s pressuring him to sign away the rights to his name as one of the catalysts for the dispute.
Whilst we cannot be sure this relates to the trade mark registration, it does bring up some interesting questions.
What is the trade mark?
The trade mark registration for BROOKLYN BECKHAM was filed in 2016 and covers both the UK and EU (registrations are also in place in China). The UK and EU registrations will be due for renewal later this year and stand in the name of Victoria Beckham (as Brooklyn’s parent/guardian).
They cover a number of categories including clothing, sports equipment and beauty products. In addition to Brooklyn, Victoria also holds trade marks for her further three children Romeo, Cruz and Harper.
Can Brooklyn use his own name?
Given that the registration is in the name of Victoria, there is an argument that Brooklyn himself does not own the rights to his name. This raises an interesting question: Is he free to use his name in the course of trade? Would any use by Brooklyn on the goods covered by the registration (or similar goods) be an infringement of the existing registration?
It remains to be seen whether the Beckhams would try to prevent Brooklyn from using his own name commercially. However, the good news for Brooklyn is that use of your own name and or address in accordance with honest practices in industrial and commercial matters is a recognised defence to trade mark infringement (in the UK, at least).
Therefore, provided that Brooklyn’s use falls within these honest‑use principles and if there are no contractual agreements stating otherwise, it is likely that he can continue to use his name as he wishes.
If only the rest of the family fall out could be answered so easily!
How we can support you
Sarah would be happy to advise if you have any queries relating to trade mark matters and the use of your own name in trade. Please get in touch.
Brooklyn Beckham: What we learned from bombshell Instagram post – BBC News
Our people
