Quebec Court Rules on English-Only Trade-Mark Use in Public Signs

摘要

On April 9, 2014 the Superior Court of Quebec issued a long-awaited decision sought by various retailers who challenged the interpretation of Quebec's language legislation by the Office Quebecois de la langue francaise (OQLF), in relation to the use of trade-marks in a language other than French on storefront signs. In Magas-ins Best Buy ltee v. Quebec (Procureur general), the court recognized the distinction to be made between trade-marks and the names of enterprises, and confirmed that a recognized trade-mark can be used on a storefront sign in Quebec without being accompanied by a generic description in French, even if that trade-mark is in English or another language than French.