Tokyo Olympics Logo Scrapped After Copyright Claim

The logo for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been ditched following an allegation that it infringed copyright belong to a Belgian artist.


In a statement published on September 1, the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games confirmed that its logo, revealed last month, had been withdrawn. “The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games decided to withdraw the current games emblems,” the committee said, adding that further information on the new logo would be announced as soon as it is available.


The emblem, created by designer Kenjiro Sano, has a black block in the middle of a square shape with curved triangles in two corners. It also features a red circle similar to that on the Japanese flag.


Belgian designer Olivier Debie claimed that the design was similar to a logo that he designed for theatre company Thé?tre de Liège in 2013.


Debie, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, said he was surprised by the decision. “I thought the Olympic committee was a big machine and I didn’t dare to take action against them.” But the director of Thé?tre de Liège told him that they should take action together, he said.


According to reports, the company filed a lawsuit on August 13. The withdrawal comes just days after the committee defended Sano and said it was confident that the logo did not infringe Debie’s copyright.