ZAG Creates Internal Anti-Piracy Department With Two New Hires
The independent animation studio ZAG is establishing an anti-piracy department to protect the company’s intellectual property rights for its brands, content, and products in the global marketplace and to manage counterfeit enforcement.
The immediate focus is for the company’s hit flagship brand, Miraculous™, Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, whose retail sales have generated over US$1B this year, the company says.
ZAG’s anti-piracy efforts are spearheaded by Julian Zag (pictured above), EVP, Global Operations and Head of Global Consumer Products, but the company is hiring on two experts to repel the IP pirates.
“ZAG has seen staggering growth over the past few years, with retail sales for Miraculous hitting over one billion dollars this year, and any brand that has amassed such a passionate following creates opportunities for counterfeit content and goods to be created,” Zag said. “Together with dedicated local counterfeit enforcement agencies, our new team will work to ensure that all products and content that fans engage with are approved by ZAG offering the quality and satisfaction they have come to expect.”
Marie-Claire Trinh Van Hi and Bei Zhou have been appointed as Global Brand Protection Analysts. Both will report to Christophe Vallade, the company’s VP of Global E-Commerce, and will work in conjunction with the company’s Senior VP of Legal & Litigation, Ben Johnson.
In their new roles, the two analysts will scan every online marketplace to detect, report and remove all counterfeit content and merchandise, lead legal investigations to reduce counterfeit supplies, and protect the company’s content by analyzing websites and social media.
Trinh Van Hi has an impressive legal background and extensive experience in online brand protection. Before joining ZAG, Trinh Van Hi served as a brand analyst at Corporation Service Company; and prior to that was an analyst and sub-team leader at UK-based Incopro for intellectual property rights protection.
She holds three master’s degrees in Judicial Careers, Legal Translation and International Family Law and a dual bachelor’s degree in Law & English.
Zhou will ensure online brand protection with a specific focus on the Asian marketplaces. She has a brand protection background with specific experience on Asian platforms, and previously served as a Brand Protection Consultant for Insiders Corp based in Paris.
Vallade, who joined ZAG in April 2021, is in charge of defining, implementing, and managing the global e-commerce strategy for ZAG’s licensed products, overseeing online growth and brand positioning, working closely with the retail and licensing teams.
Johnson, who also joined ZAG this year, is responsible for all legal affairs, including litigation matters, management and protection of an extensive worldwide trademark portfolio, implementation of anti-counterfeiting measures, privacy concerns, risk management, negotiation of contracts for development, production and licensing of ZAG content, and other general legal issues.