What would happen if Brooklyn Beckham wanted his birth name back after it was trademarked by Victoria
Questions have been raised about Brooklyn Beckham's name and who owns the rights to it in the wake of the fallout with his famous family.
Brooklyn has become estranged from his parents and siblings in recent years after he wed Nicola Peltz in 2022.
There had been speculation about a feud ever since, but this wasn't officially confirmed until Monday (January 19) when Brooklyn, 26, finally issued a statement on the matter.
Brooklyn has made it clear that he has no intention of reconciling with his mom and dad, but this might cause issues for him in the future should he want to do anything from a business perspective should he want to use his birth-given name.
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Back in December 2016, Victoria trademarked her four children's monikers meaning that she still owns the rights to Brooklyn's name, says The Times.
Per the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), a trade mark is a distinctive sign that differentiates goods and services from other competitors and can be used to protect a name or brand so that other businesses cannot use it.
For example, if budding chef Brooklyn wanted to bring out his own range of cookware under the name Brooklyn Beckham, he'd have to seek the rights from his mother.
According to The Independent, the trade mark registration is up for renewal in December 2026 meaning Brooklyn could reclaim the rights to his name if Victoria doesn't renew it.
If his mom wants to renew the rights though, it could prove more difficult for Brooklyn.
Alex Taylor, partner in the Intellectual Property, Commercial and Technology team at Withers, has discussed how easy it would be for Brooklyn to get the rights back.
He shared: "I think it depends on how willing Victoria, the owner of his name or the trade mark of his name, is to either enter into some type of co-existence agreement or to agree a licence with it. That, I think, is the most simple way of doing it.
“If they want to maintain any type of relationship moving forward, then that would seem to me to most obvious way of doing it.
"However, if there is genuine animosity between the pair and Victoria and David are set on controlling the name and see value in it moving forward, then I think it will be more difficult."
Taylor added that it will be 'hard' and 'very expensive' to litigate this should Brooklyn's parents want to still own the rights to his moniker.
If Brooklyn requested the rights back and Victoria said no, there would then be a hearing.
Nick Aries, intellectual property partner at Bird & Bird, went on to explain that there 'may be scope to challenge the validity of those registrations if they are misleading'.
Elsewhere there may have been a clause in the trademark contract that meant that his mom only owned the rights to his name until he turned 18. However, it's thought that Brooklyn was around 18 at the time of her acquiring the rights...
In Brooklyn's six-page Instagram Story shared earlier this week, he made a series of allegations about his parents and implied that they'd 'controlled' him previously.
"I do not want to reconcile with my family. I'm not being controlled, I'm standing up for myself for the first time in my life. For my entire life, my parents have controlled narratives in the press about our family," he wrote.
UNILAD have previously approached the Beckham's for comment.
Topics: Brooklyn Beckham, News, Celebrity
Niamh Shackleton