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Nissan Has Had Enough of the UK’s Vote Leave Campaign

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Nissan LEAF factory Sunderland UK

Earlier this month, I reported that Nissan was considering legal action against the UK’s Vote Leave campaign, which seeks to encourage voters to choose to leave the European Union in its referendum this week. The group had been using Nissan’s world-famous logo on many of its leaflets and brochures, touting the manufacturer as one of the companies that said it would stay in the UK, even if it voted to leave the EU.


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You would think that the powers that be at Vote Leave would see the multiple stories about this pending legal action and hurry up to remove Nissan’s logo from any and all literature. Well, you would be incorrect. We’re not totally surprised, though, since Boris Johnson, former Mayor of London, is one of Vote Leave’s loudest leaders. This is the man who criticized President Obama by saying that his part-Kenyan heritage gave him an “ancestral dislike of the British Empire.”

Since the situation has not resolved itself, Nissan has put its money where its mouth is and lodged an injunction with the UK’s High Court. Besides the trademark issue appearing in the press, Nissan had tried to contact the campaign several times and had been ignored.

David Jackson, a Nissan spokesman, told The Independent that “Permission to use our name and logo was not requested. If it was, it would not have been granted. Furthermore, use of the Nissan name and logo by the Vote Leave campaign in their materials grossly misrepresents our widely circulated and publicly stated position announced on 23rd February 2016.To be clear, Nissan is not supporting any political campaign regarding this most serious of issues. This is a matter for the people of the UK to decide.”


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Nissan is not the only company that Vote Leave has taken advantage of. Manufacturing giants Unilever, General Electric, and Airbus are also upset that their words are being twisted and their logos are being used to mislead the public. Several automakers have also expressed concern over the possibility of the UK leaving the EU.

The referendum vote will take place this week, and we wish Britain all the best.

News Source: The Independent, Al Jazeera