OSLO, Norway, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Norway is taking legal action against a German clothing store for using the Norwegian flag in its logo, officials say.
The new Brevik clothing store opened in Hamburg, Germany, last week, featuring the company's "Thor Steinar" line of clothes aimed at neo-Nazi customers, Aftenposten reported Thursday. The clothing display features the Norwegian flag and other Nordic symbols, the newspaper said.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry is seeking a court order to bar Madiatex, Brevik's parent company, from using the Norwegian flag as a part of its logo.
"We are very serious about this, and have followed the problem for a long time," said Frode Solberg of the Norwegian embassy in Berlin. "We have taken this up with the German authorities and the issue is now in the courts."
Norway does not want the Norwegian flag to be "associated with values that counter what our nation stands for," said Morten Paulsen, Norwegian counsel general in Hamburg.
"They're using a country's good reputation to build up their own brand name. That's why we're going after the company in court," he was quoted as saying.
