sports

2020 Olympic logo designer asks Suntory to withdraw 8 designs

31 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

31 Comments
Login to comment

Starting to unravel now...

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Belgian designer Olivier Debie said in July the official logo for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was too similar to his design for the Theatre de Liege,

The request for the withdrawal came after “issues regarding copyright” were raised on the Internet, Sano’s office said in the statement, without giving further details

Japan's "creative artists" really have had a tough go of it lately. Just a year or so ago, the following was in the news:

Mamoru Samuragochi, the man once hailed as “Japan's Beethoven,” apologized profusely Friday for deceiving the public about works he did not compose,

One could argue that they are simply a reflection of the overall decline of Japanese society -- from feared and admired powerhouse, to mistake-prone and late-to-the-party pretender.

1 ( +9 / -8 )

One could argue that they are simply a reflection of the overall decline of Japanese society -- from feared and admired powerhouse, to mistake-prone and late-to-the-party pretender.

Japanese have been "copying" stuff for decades. Ever hear the saying "Japanese are great at making copy-cats but not producing anything themselves". There was a time that was true.

The point is today there is more information available than ever before and it's easier to get caught now because of it.

And your comparison to Samuragochi is off the mark as he had a ghost writer and deceived the public into thinking he was blind and suddenly was cured when the lid blew off his deception. It's not the same as copying.

3 ( +7 / -5 )

Tokyo Olympics organisers say they conducted detailed surveys before deciding on the logo and that there was no legal problem with it, noting that the theater logo was not trademarked

WTF! So now they are they admitting they KNEW about the museum's logo???!!??? LOL!!!

And what about this Suntory stuff, is it 2020 related or another "coincidence" !!

1 ( +4 / -4 )

Who care's that the theater logo isn't trademarked, it was designed first. The Japanese Olympic committee should do the right thing, and choose a new logo. Rightly or wrongly, the current logo is tainted, and if it survives all the way until the opening ceremonies, this story of the theater logo will undoubtedly be told. Best to just start fresh. Besides, nothing about this logo says Japan.

14 ( +14 / -0 )

One could argue that they are simply a reflection of the overall decline of Japanese society -- from feared and admired powerhouse, to mistake-prone and late-to-the-party pretender.

Oh my god, you're right. I see things so clearly now. Must. Get. Out. Of. Japan. Now.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

This guy is an idiot, you can clearly search and find the places he just ripped stuff off including names of cities, signs and a cafe.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

"Tokyo Olympics organisers say they conducted detailed surveys before deciding on the logo and that there was no legal problem with it, noting that the theater logo was not trademarked."

So, now they are admitting that it was plagiarism, despite denying it, and just saying there is no problem in terms of copyright. And now EIGHT other designs need to be withdrawn because of copyright problems?? This guy has been getting a free lunch for TOO long!

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Working with Japanese undergrads, I can tell you that plagiarism is an endemic and accepted practice. Except when they have the misfortune of having me as their supervisor. He, he.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I saw on a Japanese website a few days ago a collection of works by Kenjiro Sano (the Japanese 2020 logo designer) which were a side-by-side comparison of supposed plagiarisms with works by other people (some were near identical). There were about a dozen logos for various groups shown, so it is obvious that the Olympic logo accusation was not a one off occurrence.

Here's the link. http://hibi-arekore.com/610.html

Apparently the loaf of bread logo and bird/grass logo are so identical in the details he copied that it would be impossible for it to be an accident.

10 ( +11 / -2 )

Maybe they should have asked the vagina boat artist to come up with something original instead of using this copy artist.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Yes, this has been circulating the web http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/girls002/imgs/f/b/fb1526f0.jpg Looking at those designs Sano's a habitual rip-off artist.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Maybe they should have asked the vagina boat artist to come up with something original instead of using this copy artist.

No. Zaha Hadid already copywrited that design for her proposal for Tokyo's Olympic stadium.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I couldn't help laughing when Sano appeared on TV pleadinging "I've never been to Belgium"... as if in this day and age that would mean he had no chance to ever see the theater's image.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

I am just waiting for the day of the big apology, the long bow, and the 1000 camera clicks and flashes.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Japan hate is strong in Japantoday.

plz dont lumpsome whole Japanese artists as ripoff artist because of this dude.

-4 ( +5 / -8 )

T_rexmaxytime - plz dont lumpsome whole Japanese artists as ripoff artist because of this dude.

Cry me a river! If the shoe fits...........

There have been many Japanese artists caught plagiarising and giving false information in recent years.

4 ( +7 / -4 )

I should be appalled that copyright infringement is showing its ugly head again, but I'm sooo happy and filled with hope that this mean we'll get another, much better logo, that I applaud Mr. Sano and cheer him to keep speaking out about this until organizers have no other option than to remove "his" design!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I personally have no problem with the logo and when I first saw it I thought it was very striking. It's such a simple design that I've even drafted similar logos in the past, and the font used is one that is very popular with Japanese designers. A standard practice would be to upload your design to a Google image search to check for any matches, and although similar I don't think the Belgian Theatre designer can really win a plagiarism claim here. The other so called rip-offs will come up with any logo when compared to a Google search. Sanoi is a very respected designer and rightly so.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

I don't know the Olympic logo is bad but i don't see the problem with the others. the rest would be like: sweedish flag vs danish flag, danish royal crown vs crown royal wiskey greenland flag vs japan flag danish royal armband vs us flag danish crest vs england three lions shield (the original) I even bought a jacket in the US, where the buttons had the danish royal army crown on them.

https://www.google.com/search?q=three+lions+shield+US+gov&biw=1920&bih=885&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIk_XTh7KoxwIVh5WUCh27ggUR#tbm=isch&q=logo+lookalike

There is so many copycats, or lets call them hackers, who improve something to make it fit even better to its needs.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Anders: No, some of "Sano's" designs are LITERALLY just a duplicate image of others' works rotated a few degrees, or with a slightly different background. Look at the Beach sign, the bird, and the copy of the bakery sign.

Sano has no business calling himself an artist, and I hope he is sued by each and every logo artist that he copied. I guess it's no surprise the JOC signed an 'artist' who is corrupt and devoid of any actual artistic ability and merely leeches off others for a paycheque.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

How come the Chinese copy everything and no one complains.

A circle and a letter. Wow...so no one ever thought of that before the Belgian Waffle did it for their special waffles at the theater? Shameful.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

And your comparison to Samuragochi is off the mark as he had a ghost writer and deceived the public into thinking he was blind and suddenly was cured when the lid blew off his deception. It's not the same as copying.

Nonsense. They are both acses of intellectual dishonesty as it relates to something they supposedly "created".

2 ( +4 / -2 )

@Anders: Respectfully, there is a big difference between a national flag and a logo designed for a specific company or event.

In the case of a flag, the design must be very simple and easily recognizable which limits the complexity/colors it should have (obviously some countries/states/etc don't go by the rules). An overly complex flag defeats the purpose of having a flag in the first place.

In addition, many flags base theirs on preexisting flags for cultural or historical reasons (eg. The Union Jack is in many countries that evolved from U.K. colonies/territories). Others such as many that mimic the USA flag, do so as a kind of tribute to USA (perhaps they changed to a similar government, or value certain aspects of American culture)

Corporate/Event logos are something of a different beast as it is still important to be recognizable, but much more complexity is allowed and therefore a lot less room for plagiarism. Specifically because countries have a wide range of icons, people and institutes to use for cultural identity beyond just a flag...whereas businesses tend to identify with very few recognizable logos.

To put it in perspective, Starbucks is a huge coffee giant that has spent a good chunk of money building it's image. When a rival coffee company uses the same general logo (green circle, generic picture inside), they cash in on the hard work Starbucks put into getting that instant recognizably. This new company can't simply say they're doing it "in tribute" to Starbucks- indeed they are hoping people looking for coffee will see the green circle and go there instead of, say, Dotour.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

How typical

The majority of Japanese pre modern culture is a direct rip off of its neighbors. The majority of Japanese modern culture is a direct rip off of the west. Japan is hardly original. What they market as original culture, usually isn't. Plagiarism is rampant. What irks people however is whenever a Japanese person proclaims unique culture and other nonsense like "four seasons".

They should get over themselves.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Tokyo Olympic also copied the historic set piece Korean palace guards in Seoul.

http://image.kmib.co.kr/online_image/2015/0812/201508120010_61130009740670_1.jpg

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

SHNYELL DEVAUX. I agree with you. Almost all logos are already made. Justbwrite in google a random text and someone will have it. Example : yejqh(39379 results)

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@Overchan: You really should read all comments before posting.

See link from Supey11: http://hibi-arekore.com/610.html

This isn't just some random gobbledegoop that happens to look similar, this is very simple copy-paste of logos. We're talking amateur Photoshop skills here...at best.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Overchan, @Anders Blenstrup-Pedersen, @Morningfield

Sano admitted today to copying the items in question for Suntory.

http://www.kyodonews.net/news/2015/08/15/28308

Hopefully JT posts a similar article here soon.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites