Amicus Brief

Magasins Best Buy Ltée et al v. Office Québécois de la langue française

Published: October 16, 2013

Court

Quebec Superior Court

Our Position

The Office Québécois de la langue française (OQLF) conflates the distinct concepts of trademarks and trade names in its 2011 interpretation of the Charter of the French language and the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business by requiring trademark owners to include a generic French translation of their publicly displayed marks. The Court should reject this new interpretation, which has the potential to confuse consumers and result in the cancellation of Canadian trademarks in certain cases.

Outcome

The court held that trademarks are distinct from trade names, and that the OQLF’s interpretation of the Charter and Regulation was incorrect. Read the decision here (French).