Charter of the French Language

On April 27th of this year, a group of leading retailers, including Best Buy, Costco and Wal-Mart, won their case before the Quebec Court of Appeal, which confirmed that the display of their English trademarks on storefront signage of the locations they operate in Quebec is in compliance with the Charter of the French Language (Charter).
The Court of Appeal upheld the judgment rendered by the Superior Court of Quebec in April 2014 in which Justice Michel Yergeau found that pursuant to Section 25 (4) of the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business (Regulation), the display of a trademark in a language other than French is permitted on public signs and in commercial advertising, especially on storefront signage, as long as a French version of the trademark has not been registered.
This judgment was rendered following a joint hearing in October 2012 in connection with a motion for … Continue reading “In French please!”