A U.S. citizen living in southwestern Japan has been arrested for trademark infringement through unauthorized use of a 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics logo, police said.
David Roy Uhlstein, an assistant language teacher in Kumamoto Prefecture, is suspected of having sold five items, including mugs and smartphone cases, bearing the logo used during the Tokyo campaign to host the games without the organizing committee's permission, according to the police.
The police allege that he received a total of ¥6,540 (about $65) for selling the items online between May 2015 and February 2016.
But the police also believe the 53-year-old man made at least ¥200,000 by selling more than 200 items online since September 2013 when Tokyo won the right to host the games. He allegedly sold them to about 30 people in 18 prefectures.
Uhlstein said he did not know that authorization by the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games was necessary to use the logo, the police said.
Uhlstein printed the logo by downloading it from the internet, attaching it to plain mugs and smartphone cases, and posting the items for sale through his own online store, according to the police.
The logo features cherry blossom, often used as a symbol of Japan, with five colors — red, blue, yellow, green and purple. It had been used from late 2011 through July 2015.
