Designer Olivier Debie filed a lawsuit in a Belgian court last month claiming Kenjiro Sano's Olympic design was plagiarised from a logo he made for the theatre in Liege.

He launched his case in conjunction with the theatre, the copyright holder of the logo, demanding €50,000 (£36,000/$56,000) to be paid by the IOC and other organisations each time the emblem is used.

The logo has since been dropped by Japanese organisers, with a process now underway to select a replacement one.

But just hours before a scheduled preliminary hearing, the theatre announced it was dropping out of the case.

"The Theatre de Liege, copyright holder of its logo, has decided to waive the pending procedure in Liege against the IOC," they said in a statement.

"After examining the pleas and evidence submitted by the IOC and the definitive withdrawal of Mr. Sano's logo, [the theatre] acknowledges that the disputed emblem, regardless of any similarity with its logo, is not breaching its rights."

In a similar statement posted on their website, the IOC claim the matter is now at an end.

"After examining the pleas and evidence submitted by the IOC and the definitive withdrawal of Mr. Sano's logo, the Theâtre de Liège acknowledges that the disputed emblem, regardless of any similarity with its logo, is not breaching its rights," they wrote.

"This way the parties put an end to any controversy related to this matter."

But Debie's lawyer Philippe Mottard has told Agence France-Presse his client is still pursuing his case.

He is reportedly refusing settlement "under any circumstances", so long as the IOC fail to admit to plagiarism.

Debie added to Associated Press today how "there is a lot of pressure from the IOC" to drop his case.

Along with the decision to scrap the design for the new Olympic Stadium, the scandal has overshadowed preparations for the Games in recent weeks.

A Preliminary Committee has been convened by organisers to examine the issues surrounding the withdrawal of the previous emblem, and based on its findings, will then formulate a basic policy for the selection of the new ones.

An Emblems Selection Committee will then be convened to make a final choice.

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