Tokyo Olympics Logo Plagiarized, Logo Designer Denies The Claim

A logo designer is directly or indirectly involved with the reputation for event/organization whose logo he is designing. When the logo is good, easy to identify and attractive, it can boost the brand value. Similarly, a bad logo can draw criticism, controversy and hamper the reputation. Therefore, a designer should be very careful with his creation and research to create the right logo.

A Recent Controversy over 2020 Tokyo Olympic Logo

There has been a controversy recently regarding the logo of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where a section is claimed to be plagiarized. However, the Japanese designer Kenjiro Sano denied the allegations and said there is absolutely no truth in such claims.

Logo Designer Rejects Plagiarism Claims

Recently, in a news conference, Sano said that he had and would never involve into plagiarism for any design. In fact, he considers the logo design, that he has created for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, as his masterpiece. It is an honor to design for such a world famous sporting event and he wanted to put all his skills and experience to design the logo. Moreover, he considers every design special and nurture them like his children and such controversies make him little depressed, said the logo maker.

The Allegation over the Logo

According to a Belgium based designer, Oliver Debie, the official Tokyo Olympics logo bears a lot of similarity with the emblem for the Belgian Theater de Liege. Sano clarified his stand by saying that he has not seen the emblem of the theater ever before designing the logo. In fact, he said that such allegation makes him surprised, saddened and shocked. No matter, how saddened he is, it is true that such allegation raises questions in the minds of people, which hampers the reputation of an event to some extent.

Why the Logo Caught into Controversy

Both the logos of the Theater de Liege and the official 2020 Olympic Games have the letter “T.” According to the Japanese logo designer, his geometric design makes use of the letter “T”, which is a widely used font. The letter in the logo stands for ‘team’, ‘tomorrow’ and ‘Tokyo’. He also mentioned about the red circle in the logo that is inspired by the emblem of 1964 Tokyo Olympics, designed by Yusaku Kamekura. However, the logo of the theater has a white backdrop with a similar “T” in black.

Research on Trademark

According to the Tokyo based organizers, thorough research has been conducted on trademarks within Japan and other nations. Only after getting proper confirmation, the official logo has been finalized. It is interesting to note that the Belgian theater’s emblem is not registered with the trademark. In fact, the sponsors of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have already started using the logo, informed the event’s executive director of marketing.

Whether the allegation of plagiarism on the Japanese logo maker is true or not, it cannot be denied that the matter has generated mixed response among the public, which somehow affects the reputation of the event. Questions are raised on the effectiveness of proper research conducted by the designer and the organizers. The scenario can be similar for two business houses as well, if their logo designs are identical.

Logo is an important element that is directly related to the event, product or brand. When there is any controversy surrounding the logo, it definitely affects the brand. Therefore, the logo designers must be very careful with their research, so that do not make such mistake even unknowingly and land into such criticism.