A dispute over the design of the Olympic cauldron used at the London Games in 2012 has been settled out of court.

The organisers of the event have acknowledged that New York firm Atopia had a hand in designing the copper petal cauldron, along with British designer Thomas Heatherwick.

Atopia architect David Turnbull said: "We are very relieved that Locog has decided to settle with us and publicly acknowledge the work we produced.

"We knew it would be time-consuming and painful, but we felt it was important to go through the process, and we're pleased that our tag-line 'anticipate the future' has been borne out."

Meanwhile, Heatherwick told The Guardian: "I knew nothing of this settlement until today, and it has no implication for any of the creative team. As we've said before, the design process was categorically our own, from start to finish. I can't help but feel saddened by what seems like cynical timing to coincide with the opening of the Museum of London's cauldron exhibition this week."

It has been reported that Atopia pitched the design to the organising committee several years before Heatherwick was brought into the project.