David Beckham has launched a million-dollar legal battle in an attempt to get rid of some 500 sellers of counterfeit products from his clothing and accessories line and strip them of their illegally generated profits, mainly in Asia.
DB Ventures, which is in charge of Becks’ business, filed two lawsuits on Wednesday in the United States against counterfeiters who sell imitation clothing, watches, perfumes, sunglasses, video games, toys, soccer balls, and other sports items through massive online retail sites such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Temu and Walmart.
DB Ventures, in conjunction with its rights management company Authentic Brands Group, is seeking $2 million (£1.6 million) from each of the 492 defendant sellers in two lawsuits and says all of these sellers acted “maliciously” to deceive buyers.
Last month, Beckham’s team won a previous £240 million case in the same U.S. court against dozens of counterfeiters.
Initially, the judge in the latest case issued a temporary restraining order and ordered a freeze on the defendant’s assets.
Commenting on the trial, a source said, Authentic Brands wants to put an end to this problem and stop people from selling counterfeits of David’s products.
He adds, They pride themselves on the quality of their products and rip people off without their knowledge.
Beckham wins lawsuit against Mark Wahlberg
Just in April, Beckham sued F45, a company owned by actor Mark Wahlberg, for $9.7 million, claiming that the company he partially owns breached various sponsorship commitments.
The hearing is scheduled for January 2025, to resolve the breach of contract issue that occurred in 2022. Beckham, signed a five-year contract with F45 as a brand ambassador in exchange for $1.5 million a year along with shares in the fitness company to be delivered six months and 12 months after the company went public in 2021.
However, despite DB Ventures holding up its end of the bargain, F45 failed to issue substantial cash and stock compensation to DBVL, as required by the parties’ agreement,” the lawsuit states.
