Within a day of it's unveiling, the new logo for the 2016 Brazil Olympic Games was under fire from critics, who said the logo was blatantly plagiarizing the logo of a US philanthropic organization.
According to Fred Gelli, creative director of Tatil agency, there are "similar elements" to a famous Henri Matisse painting, "The Dance," and a resemblance to the referenced logo of American non-profit, the Telluride Foundation.
Gelli insists, however, that the similarities in design were not intentional.
"Our logo went through the most rigorous system of checking intellectual property in the world. The International Olympic Committee for six weeks looked on each continent, checking to see if there was any sort of conflict between our logo and others that might exist," he said. "What has happened is that isolated elements seem similar because they have human figures in a circle dancing, and that is a universal symbol."
Organizers say that the Rio logo is based on four concepts: contagious energy, harmonious diversity, exuberant nature and the Olympic spirit.