The Tokyo 2020 emblem designed by Kenjiro Sano has been all the (out)rage in recent months, for its likeness to the logo of The Theatre de Liege in Brussels. The designer was so humiliated by criticism that he asked the Olympic committee to drop the emblem, which they eventually did.

But as I had written earlier, creating the perfectly unique design is a challenge where everything is available on the internet and in reality, everything is iterative. Apparently, the 2016 Rio Olympic emblem went through the same criticism days after its launch, on January 2, 2011, according to this article.

The multi-color representation of three people linking arms and legs in a series of loops that resemble an Elton John pair of sunglasses was apparently seen as a copy of the logo of the Telluride Foundation, a non-profit based in Colorado, US with the aim of creating a sustainable and thriving community.

OK, the color schemes are similar, they both have arms linking, yes they invoke the feeling of the other, but they aren’t the same. I’d say there are more similarities between the Telluride logo and the renown painting, The Dance, by Henri Matisse. Fortunately, this French painter and sculptor is dead, and won’t be complaining about people or non-profit organizations ripping off his ideas.