Intellectual Property

Copyright

As a former curator at the Museum of modern art of the city of Paris, Madame Françoise Marquet-Zao played a key role in the dissemination of the works of Zao Wou-Ki on the contemporary art market.
Aware of the crucial role of his wife at his side during their long years together, Zao Wou-Ki decided to bequeath the moral right on all of his works to Madame Marquet-Zao, enabling her to safeguard his work after his death.

Madam Françoise Marquet-Zao is thus not only a privileged witness of the imprint left by Zao Wou-Ki in the contemporary art world, but she is also the conscientious guardian of the artistic legacy he left behind.

In order to carry out this mission, Madam Françoise Marquet-Zao has fully vested rights and prerogatives to ensure sustainability and respect for the integrity of the works of Zao Wou-Ki, and to take all measures necessary to defend the copyrights attached to his works.

Trademarks

Several trademarks have been registered, first by Zao Wou-Ki himself, then by Madame Françoise Marquet-Zao, in order to protect the name and signature of the artist, as the first attributes characterizing his work.

The protection thus granted to the signature of Zao Wou-Ki and his surname originates in France and extends internationally to cover all territories including China, Japan and the United States.

This legal protection granted by the trademark law is a means to strengthen the fight against counterfeiters who might be tempted to attempt to reproduce or imitate the signature of Zao Wou-Ki, and who thus expose themselves to severe civil and criminal penalties.