Real Madrid take legal proceedings over media rights

The Primera Liga club, with a number of its players including David Beckham, Luis Figo, Raul, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, has started joint legal proceedings against sport betting companies operating on the Internet who regularly use the club’s name and of its players without authorization. Lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont and associates have been appointed to bring legal action against against seven online betting companies: Hilton Group plc (Ladbrokes), Sporting Exchange Ltd. (Betfair), BAW International Ltd. (Betandwin), Bookmaker.com Ltd. (MrBookmaker), Villa La Palma, Sportingbet PLC (Miapuesta), William Hill Organization Ltd (Willhill) and Victor Chandler - these companies are based in the UK, Gibraltar and Malta. A Cologne Tribunal has already made the first decision in the set of actions taken by the club Real Madrid and its players. The tribunal ruled against the use of images featuring David Beckham wearing the club’s shirt being used by betting company Mr Bookmaker. The court ruled that unless the illicit use of the images stopped Mr Bookmaker would face a fine of €250,000 and the management responsible a prison sentence of up to six months. Following the ruling Mr Bookmaker has withdrawn ceased using Beckham’s image.