Volume III

Issue : 3: February 10, 2005

• Court Decides Internet Users More Likely to Confuse Trade-marks
• English Courts Are Not an International Libel Tribunal
• Greek Privacy Regulator Declares Employees' Emails to be Private
• Appellate Court Considers a Discussion Forum's Right to Rely on Section 230 of the CDA
• Piracy Bill Targets Camcorders in Movie Theatres
• Canadian Doctor Suspended for Prescribing Drugs for U.S. Patients
• Quebec Company Fined for Failing to Provide Bilingual Website

Home > Volume III > Issue 3: February 10, 2005 > Quebec Company Fined for Failing to Provide Bilingual Website

Quebec Company Fined for Failing to Provide Bilingual Website

The Court of Quebec fined Produits Métalliques C.M.P. Ltd. for, inter alia, failing to maintain a bilingual French-English website in contravention of section 52 of the French Language Charter. This section of the French Language Charter provides that commercial publications must be in French, and may be in other languages.

The defendant admitted that the site had been in English only from 1994 to 2001. In its defence, the defendant claimed that the website had been reconfigured and made bilingual at a cost of $50,000, but that a particular product description had yet to be translated. The defendant also submitted that 80 to 90% of its business was with English speaking multi-national firms. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Court held that section 52 of the Charter creates a strict liability offence and that the defendant had failed to demonstrate that it had taken reasonable measures to avoid the actus reus of the offence.

The defendant was fined $500, the highest amount payable for a first offence.

For a copy of the decision, visit:
http://www.canlii.org/qc/jug/qccq/2004/2004qccq50385.html