Perth Legal Expert Reacts to 'Bizarre' Beckham Family Name Rights Dispute
A prominent Perth trademark lawyer has provided expert analysis on the extraordinary allegations emerging from the ongoing Beckham family feud, describing claims that David and Victoria Beckham pressured their son Brooklyn to sign away rights to his own name as both "extraordinary" and "pretty bizarre."
Explosive Allegations Surface on Social Media
The simmering tensions within one of the world's most famous families erupted publicly this week when Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, 26, posted a lengthy and explosive statement to Instagram. In his social media revelation, the aspiring chef and model made several serious allegations against his celebrity parents, including claims they have "endlessly attempted to destroy" his marriage to actress Nicola Peltz through calculated media leaks and deliberate sabotage.
Brooklyn confirmed long-running rumours about family tensions reaching their peak during his Palm Beach wedding celebrations, alleging that his mother Victoria hijacked his first dance and "danced very inappropriately" on him in front of approximately 500 guests. However, the most legally significant claim centered on what Brooklyn described as repeated pressure and attempted bribery regarding his name rights.
The Name Rights Controversy Explained
"Weeks before our big day, my parents repeatedly pressured and attempted to bribe me into signing away the rights to my name, which would have affected me, my wife and our future children," Brooklyn stated in his social media post. "They were adamant on me signing before my wedding date because then the terms of the deal would be initiated. My holdout affected the payday, and they have never treated me the same since."
Perth intellectual property lawyer Dave Stewart from Bennett Lawyers expressed professional astonishment at these allegations, particularly given Brooklyn's career aspirations. "If this allegation is correct, his parents have proposed to him that he can no longer use his name or his surname for the purposes of promoting himself, given he's a model and an aspiring chef, that's quite a big deal," Stewart explained.
Legal Perspective on Brand Protection Versus Personal Rights
The legal expert outlined the potential motivations behind such a request from the Beckham parents' perspective. "From their perspective, if he decided to go off and set up a restaurant and call it, Beckham's, or called it Brooklyn Beckham's, or whatever, then I guess their complaint is he's benefiting from the goodwill and reputation that they've built up in their surname over a period of decades," Stewart noted.
However, he emphasized the counterargument that "he should be able to use his own name to go out and promote himself and any businesses that he decides to attach himself to." Stewart posed the question of whether this represents "some sort of turf war between him and his parents where they are so reliant upon using their name to endorse products and services" and speculated, "Could it be said that they don't want the competition?"
The 'Brand Beckham' Legacy and Control
David and Victoria Beckham have spent decades meticulously crafting "Brand Beckham" – a powerful combination of football fame, fashion influence, and celebrity status that has redefined modern stardom. Public relations expert Mark Borkowski previously told the BBC that "their brand has always been about control of narrative, image, and legacy," a sentiment that appears to mirror Brooklyn's own claims about his upbringing.
In his statement, Brooklyn asserted that his "parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family" throughout his entire life, describing what he called "performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships" as "a fixture of the life I was born into." He concluded with the damning assessment that "My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first."
Trademark Registration Adds Credence to Claims
Legal documents reveal that Victoria Beckham registered "Brooklyn Beckham" as a trademark in the United Kingdom on December 22, 2016, when her son was just 16 years old. The registration covered an extensive array of goods and services including:
- Shave lotions and body scrubs
- Fragrances and gels
- Clothing and footwear
- Toys and various other products
The trademark was registered under Victoria's name as "parent and guardian" of Brooklyn at the time and is scheduled to expire in December of this year. This registration timeline potentially adds credibility to Brooklyn's claims about why his parents allegedly pressured him to sign away his name rights, as they would need to resolve ownership issues before the trademark's expiration deadline.
"Those sorts of arrangements are typically pretty lucrative for any sort of celebrity. So if what he's saying is correct, then the idea is to carve him out from those opportunities," Stewart explained. He further noted that "Given he is no longer a child, Victoria Beckham cannot hold herself out any longer as holding Brooklyn Beckham's name as a trade mark in her capacity as 'parent and guardian.'"
Family Responses and Social Media Commentary
David Beckham made his first public comments since the allegations surfaced during an appearance on CNBC's financial program Squawk Box on Wednesday. While not directly addressing his son's specific claims, the football legend discussed the broader dangers of social media platforms. "I have always spoken about social media and the power of social media. For the good and for the bad," David stated. "The bad we've talked about with what the kid can access these days, it can be dangerous, but what I have found personally, especially with my kids as well, use it for the right reasons."
Victoria Beckham has yet to publicly address any of the allegations made by her eldest son. The Perth legal expert concluded that while such a request from parents to a child represents a "strange thing" and is "certainly possible" from a legal standpoint, the entire situation remains professionally remarkable given the family's global celebrity status and the fundamental nature of personal name rights.
