ZAG establishes anti-piracy department to protect its IP

Global 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 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$1 billion this year. The company’s anti-piracy efforts are spearheaded by Julian Zag, EVP of Global Operations and Head of Global Consumer Products.

Marie-Claire Trinh Van Hi and Bei Zhou have been appointed as Global Brand Protection Analysts. Both will report to Christophe Vallade, Vice President of Global E-Commerce, and work in conjunction with the company’s Senior Vice President 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, she served as a Brand Analyst at Corporation Service Company; and prior as Analyst and Sub Team Leader at UK-based Incopro for intellectual property rights protection. Meanwhile, 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.

“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. 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,”  Julian Zag commented.