27 April 2016Copyright

Tokyo Olympics chooses new logo after copyright storm

A new logo for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been revealed following copyright concerns with the previous choice.

The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games revealed the new design on Monday, April 25.

In September last year, the planned logo for both events was scrapped following a copyright claim from a Belgian artist.

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

But Olivier Debie claimed that the design was similar to a logo that he designed for theatre company Théâtre de Liège in 2013.

The new design, by Asao Tokolo, is a circular chequered pattern comprising three varieties of rectangular shapes. Tokolo’s was one of four designs shortlisted.

Alex Kelham, managing associate at law firm Lewis Silkin, said there was a robust selection process that included “clear guidance” on intellectual property rights.

Kelham added: “One of the downsides to selecting and clearing all four pairs of designs is that being in the public domain opens the logos up to the risk of unauthorised use.”

She continued: “Tokyo 2020 may consider obtaining trademark registrations for all the shortlisted designs but this would prove even more costly and most risks would likely be mitigated by the existing protections—including rights to the ‘Tokyo 2020’ word mark … as well as copyright in the designs themselves.

“There is of course still the risk that another designer may come out of the woodwork with a claim on the new logo’s rights. However, with the high-profile nature of the selection process, we probably would have heard from them by now.”

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2 September 2015   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.