The Quebec government has filed an appeal against the Quebec
Superior Court decision that rejected the position taken by the
Office québécois de la langue
française (OQLF) regarding non-French store
signage.
On April 9, 2014, the Quebec Superior Court decided that
non-French trademarks on store-front signage do not need to be
accompanied by a French descriptor of the nature of the business to
comply with the Charter of the French Language. The
decision was the result of an action launched in 2012 by several
multinational companies including Best Buy, Gap, Old Navy, Wal-Mart
and Costco seeking a declaratory judgment against the
interpretation of the OQLF and Quebec's Procureur
général that the display of a trademark on
store-front signage is use of a trade name, which according to
Quebec's Charter of the French Language and its
regulations, requires the addition of a French descriptor if the
name is not in French.
