A Japanese designer who has been accused of plagiarism for his Tokyo 2020 Olympics logo said on Thursday that "he had asked a beer company to withdraw some of his designs due to new accusations of copyright infringement." 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, but designer Kenjiro Sano denied any plagiarism." Debie said that "he would take legal action" (REUTERS, 8/13). ... A pledge by Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes to provide more than 1 million free tickets to poor school children to attend the 2016 Olympics "remains unfulfilled" as organizers said that he "is yet to put in an order with about half the tickets to the games already sold." Paes said a year ago that "he would use public funds to buy tickets after acknowledging Brazil’s poor largely were excluded" from attending the 2014 World Cup, which the country also hosted. City Hall officials did not immediately respond Wednesday to an e-mail (BLOOMBERG, 8/12). ... Multinational confectionery company Mondelez announced that it is the official chocolate, biscuits and spreads partner of the Australian Olympic team ahead of Rio 2016, "through brands including Cadbury, Oreo and Vegemite" (AD NEWS, 8/13).
