CAPTION
KFC IS PFK (POULET FRIT KENTUCKY)
IN QUÉBEC.
trademarks to stand alone.The conflict
is between Canadian trademark law
and the Charter of the French Language. Until recently, companies were
permitted to use English trademark
names on storefront signs. Now the
language agency is requiring retailers
to "Frenchify" their signs by adding a
generic description — such as ameublement for a furniture store.
"This is a new interpretation," said
Nathalie St-Pierre, Québec's vice president for the Retail Council of Canada, which is representing the plaintiffs in Québec's Superior Court.
"We believe that the trademark is an
exception from the implication of
the charter, and that therefore trademarks don't need to be changed and
a French generic doesn't need to be
added, so that's what we're asking the
courts to settle."
But the change is no new interpretation, says Martin Bergeron, a spokesman
for l'Office québécois de la langue française. "Under the regulations, businesses
are entitled to use a trademark other than
French, but you need to have a generic
term," Bergeron said. "We're not asking them to modify the trademark." The
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