Tokyo 2020 scrapped its Olympic logo after the designer's team was caught copying

In July 2015 Tokyo unveiled the emblem for its 2020 Olympics, designed by star graphic designer Kenjiro Sano. Within days Belgian designer Olivier Debie pointed out that it was almost identical to his 2013 logo for the Théâtre de Liège and sued to stop its use. The organizing committee initially dismissed the claim — Debie's design was not a registered trademark.

Then more copying surfaced: Sano's team had used a photograph from a website without permission, his proposal resembled a work by German typographer Jan Tschichold, and he had already admitted that tote bags made for a brewery incorporated other designers' work, blaming assistants. On 1 September 2015, at a crisis meeting with Olympic minister Toshiaki Endo, organizing committee head Yoshiro Mori, Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe and JOC head Tsunekazu Takeda, the emblem was scrapped — weeks after organizers had defended it.

Sano denied plagiarism, calling the claims 'completely groundless' and saying his design was inspired by the 1964 Tokyo emblem. The committee opened a fresh competition, and a replacement emblem followed in 2016. Japan Airlines and other sponsors had already used the scrapped mark — an awkward finish to a summer that had also seen Zaha Hadid's stadium design abandoned.

Scrapping the logo after weeks of denial cost the Tokyo 2020 committee a redesign, sponsor rework, and a credibility hit, with the replacement emblem unveiled in 2016.

Tokyo picked a star designer's emblem without checking his studio's work — Debie's Liège logo was nearly identical and the similarity was visible within days.

The committee defended the logo for weeks on a technicality — Debie's design wasn't trademarked — instead of checking the design's provenance.

Sano's studio had a habit of borrowing: an admitted brewery-tote-bag copy, an unauthorized photo, a Tschichold resemblance — one scandal opened the door to the rest.

A design's provenance is part of the design. Tokyo defended a logo for weeks on trademark technicalities while the copying evidence stacked up — verify the work, not just the rights.

Tokyo opened a fresh design competition and unveiled a new emblem in April 2016. The scrapped mark had already appeared on sponsor merchandise and promotional materials, and Debie's lawsuit was later settled.