The EU referendum’s Vote Leave campaign has been threatened with legal action by Toyota and Unilever
Toyota Motor Europe has confirmed it is considering taking legal action against the Vote Leave campaign for the EU referendum as it has apparently misused the auto brand’s logo in some of its Vote Leave promotional pamphlets.
The promotional material was posted out to voters across the the UK; on one section of the pamphlet, Vote Leave had printed a collection of household brands and their logos, including Unilever and Vauxhall, claiming that these companies would keep operations in the UK regardless of the EU referendum result.
Toyota is angry at the use of its logo on this Vote Leave pamphlet
However, Toyota Motor Europe has said this is a misuse of the company’s brand and logo and will lead voters into thinking that Toyota is backing the Vote Leave campaign, when, in reality, Toyota believes that a UK in the European Union is ābest for our operations and their long term competitivenessā.
The auto firm produced one vehicle out of every 10 that were manufactured in the UK in 2015. In February, Toyota said it had relocated to Derbyshire largely on account of the UK’s open-border trading agreement with the rest of Europe.
Both Toyota and Unilever have contacted the Vote Leave campaign to complain about the use of their logos and both are considering launching an official complaint with the Electoral Commission.
Chris OāKeefe, the senior manager of external affairs at Toyota Motor Europe, commented on the issue: ā…Vote Leave hadnāt asked for our permission. We think it gives the impression, therefore, that somehow we are endorsing or supporting the campaign… But weāve agreed not to take any part in the campaign and thatās why we felt it was an inappropriate use of our logo.ā
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