They say that imitation is the biggest form of flattery. But when it comes to downright copying an individual's creative work, it can be classified as a form of plagiarism.
A few months ago, a Belgian designer filed a plagiarism lawsuit on someone who largely copied his original logo design. Olivier Debie filed the lawsuit in August as a way to pursue his creative work that Kenjiro Sano apparently copied for a Tokyo 2020 Olympics logo he was commissioned to do. When Sano's work was unveiled to the public, many couldn't help but compare how his design looked eerily similar to the logo designed by Debie for the Theatre de Liege in Belgium in 2011. Both designs had a similar prominent T-shape. Despite plagiarism claims thrown at him, the Japanese designer denied that he committed the act.
The latest update about that case is that Debie has announced that he will no longer be pursuing his grievance in court.
In an interview posted on JapanTimes, Debie shared that he has decided to withdraw his complaint after he had carefully considered all his options. According to the designer, the reason why he decided to withdraw from the lawsuit was because he doesn't have the resources to recoup his expenses. Even if he will win from the lawsuit, Debie shares he will still be incurring a very high legal cost.
Both Debie and the theater group joined together to file the lawsuit against the International Olympic Committee. In October, the theater and the IOC came to an agreement where the theater pulled out of the lawsuit after the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics scrapped all design ideas by Sano and his team; including his logo for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. As reported on India Times, the organizers are currently looking at four entries that have been shortlisted for the new logo design.
While he has withdrawn from the lawsuit, Debie admits he would have preferred having compensation for the lost time spent on the lawsuit.
