Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has lost a High Court case seeking to end a licensing agreement that requires the practice to pay 6% of its annual net income to the Zaha Hadid Foundation for the continued use of the late architect’s name. Since 2018, the agreement has generated £21.4 million for the foundation, which manages Hadid’s estate and legacy.

The firm, led by Patrik Schumacher, argued that the agreement – established in 2013 – was intended solely to provide Hadid with income during her lifetime. Quoted in The Times, Schumacher described it as a way to replace a “rather haphazard system of Dame Zaha claiming remuneration and expenses on an ad hoc basis” which could have attracted scrutiny.

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