ruled against the practice<\/a> in late 2024.<\/p>\nOverturning that decision, justice Adam Johnson said in a new ruling that the \u2018indefinite\u2019 long-running agreement between the practice and foundation could not have been intended to be \u2018forever\u2019 and that the naming rights deal could be terminated by the practice with 12 months\u2019 notice.<\/p>\n
The foundation had argued the practice could not terminate the deal with notice because the contract, signed by Hadid in 2013-14, did not include an exit clause.<\/p>\n
Johnson, explaining his interpretation of the contract, said that \u2018indefinite \u2026 would mean that the contract was literally intended to go on forever unless terminated by Dame Zaha or her successor in title. While no doubt it was envisaged to be a long-term relationship, from either party\u2019s point of view, that would not make business sense.\u2019<\/p>\n
He continued by pointing out the restraints of retaining the \u2018Zaha Hadid\u2019 name in perpetuity, Johnson wrote: \u2018Many things might happen or emerge over the decades or centuries following the date of the agreement which might be so detrimental to the brand as to make it seriously disadvantageous to the company to be obliged to continue to promote the marks, for example if an iconic Zaha Hadid building was beset with structural problems.<\/p>\n
\u2018Further, architectural styles change with changes in technology and taste. Can it sensibly be said that the parties intended the company to be bound to associate itself with and to promote Dame Zaha\u2019s architectural identity in 100 years\u2019 time?\u2019<\/p>\n
The decision paves the way for the practice to renegotiate the contract and its terms with the foundation, including how much it pays to use the name Zaha Hadid \u2013 an obligation that has cost the practice more than \u00a321.4 million since her death.<\/p>\n
In a statement, ZHA told the AJ: \u2018Following a longstanding review of the trademark licence with the Zaha Hadid Foundation (ZHF), the Court of Appeal has confirmed Zaha Hadid Architects\u2019 (ZHA) position that the outdated 2013 licence agreement could be ended on reasonable notice.<\/p>\n
\u2018The practice will now engage in constructive discussions with the foundation about an updated licence. Following many consecutive years of record growth, the business is strong, with solid governance, healthy cash reserves and a clear long-term global plan, and will continue to honour Zaha Hadid\u2019s legacy built over decades in developing acclaimed architecture across six continents.\u2019<\/p>\n
In 2024, the High Court ruled against directors\u2019 claims that using the late architect\u2019s name was a restraint on trade given the practice\u2019s turnover of \u00a369.4 million in 2023. This assertion was excluded from the Court of Appeal claim.<\/p>\n
The Court of Appeal said the terms of the deal, other than the right to renegotiate and its indefinite ending, \u2018are all rationally and commercially defensible, such as the royalty and the other requirement\u2019 and that it \u2018became clear that this plea was unsustainable given the successful financial performance of the company\u2019.<\/p>\n
In 2024, ZHA recorded its highest-ever annual turnover for the fourth year running, reporting an income of \u00a383.1 million for the year ending 30 April 2025.<\/p>\n
That included income from the Middle East, which leapt 45 per cent, rising from \u00a327.1 million in April 2024 to \u00a339.3 million in April 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ruling, handed down by the court last week (27 February), means the practice can now renegotiate the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,11115,163954,56,54,55,18097,25860],"class_list":["post-456586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-high-court","tag-patrik-schumacher","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-zaha-hadid","tag-zaha-hadid-architects"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}