YOKOHAMA (dpa-AFX) - Japan's Nissan Motor Co Ltd. (NSANF.PK, NSANY.PK) said it would take legal action against Britain's 'Vote Leave campaign' over the use of its logo on EU referendum literature.
The official campaign for Britain to leave the European Union used the Japanese carmaker's logo in leaflets calling for voters to back Brexit on June 23.
The logo appeared on one leaflet with a message that major employers have all said they'll stay in the UK whatever the result of the referendum.
In a statement, Nissan said, 'We were extremely disappointed to discover that the Vote Leave campaign had been using the Nissan name and logo in their literature and on their website without our permission. We immediately requested that they stop doing so. It has since come to light that the Vote Leave campaign continue to use our logo and trademark despite our repeated requests for them to stop.'
The company, which is said to prefer Britain remaining in the EU, added that the use of the Nissan name and logo by the Vote Leave campaign grossly misrepresents the firm's widely circulated and publicly stated position announced on February 23, 2016.
It added that the company is not supporting any political campaign regarding this most serious of issues. This is a matter for the people of the UK to decide.
The company said it will be issuing legal proceedings in the High Court asking for an injunction to stop Vote Leave's use of Nissan's name and logo. The company would also ask to prevent the group from making any further false statements and misrepresentations concerning Nissan.
Earlier, chairman of Nissan Europe, Paul Willcox, in a letter to all employees ahead of Thursday's vote, stated that as a global company with a strong presence in Europe, Nissan's preference is that the UK stays as part of the European Union.
Rival Toyota, and consumer goods maker Unilever are also opposing the use of their name and logo by the 'Vote Leave' campaign.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX