MONTREAL - A Quebec Superior Court flipped the bird to sushi restaurant Fukyu.

The name "Fukyu" might be a Japanese word for a form of martial arts, but a judge ruled in August that it was "clearly inappropriate" in the Montreal context.

Sushi bar owner John De Melo, 28, told QMI Agency he wanted to name his Montreal resto something "catchy and Japanese. We didn't think it would be inappropriate."

So the sign outside his restaurant read "Fukyu" since last February. By July, De Melo's landlord began receiving complaints from other tenants.

The landlord, L.G. Plaza, filed a lawsuit claiming De Melo was obliged to get consent before erecting the sign that the landlord claimed was provocative.

Judge Kirkland Casgrain agreed and ordered De Melo to hide the offensive words within 24 hours of the court ruling, which was released at the end of August.

De Melo said he didn't think the ruling would have negative impact on his business.

"I think the financial impacts on my company will be positive," he said, adding that the case has given his sushi bar increased exposure to the public.