A trademark battle between former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and a Sydney-based skincare company over the letters "VB" has been settled.
The 46-year-old fashion designer opposed the registration of two marks proposed by VB Skinlab, which were published in a journal in 2018.
Her lawyers argued her established reputation in Australia meant their use "would be likely to deceive or cause confusion" with her own fashion and cosmetics products.
Beckham was appealing a decision by IP Australia, which in March found she had not established any grounds of opposition and the two VB marks should proceed to registration.
But a listing for the appeal in the Federal Circuit Court on Wednesday was vacated as the parties worked towards an agreement.
By Friday, Judge Julia Baird made orders dismissing the appeal by consent, noting parties had agreed to terms of settlement.
The orders directed the registrar of trademarks to "take all necessary steps" for the two trademark applications to proceed to registration.
There were no orders made regarding costs.
In the initial decision, IP Australia delegate Nicholas Smith described Beckham as "an individual from the United Kingdom who is a well-known figure in the fields of music … and fashion".
Beckham's legal team argued she had been using her own mark in Australia two years before the filing date of the proposed VB Skinlab marks.
It had been used in relation to cosmetics since 2016, with Beckham promoting her products through her enormous social media presence which includes about 25 million Instagram followers.
Beckham's business empire is valued at 100 million British pounds ($196 million).
But the IP Australia decision described her reputation for cosmetics in Australia as "limited".
Beckham's team also took issue with VB Skinlab's use of "a slim brunette with long hair" on its website, said to be similar to her own image, but the IP Australia delegate was "particularly unpersuaded" it was a reference to Beckham.
The ABC has contacted both parties for comment.
