Changes to trademark law in Quebec due to Bill 96 are set to come into force on 1 June 2025. On 26 June 2024, the Government of Quebec released finalized amendments to the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business (the “Regulation”), which clarified many aspects of Bill 96 related to trademarks and walked back a number of significant changes that had been previously proposed.
This article summarizes the key obligations of Bill 96 related to trademarks as clarified by the amended Regulation.
Products
Historically, “recognized trademarks” appearing on products in Quebec were exempt from being translated into French. Recognized trademarks had been interpreted to mean both registered and unregistered trademarks.
Early versions of the proposed amendments to the Regulation sought to eliminate this exemption, providing that trademarks could only appear on a product in a language other than French if they were registered in Canada and no corresponding French version appeared on the trademark register.
The finalized Regulation maintains the translation exemption for common law trademarks. Consequently, after 1 June 2025, common law trademarks (and registered trademarks) on products in Quebec can still claim the benefit of the recognized trademark exemption. This means that common law trademarks and registered trademarks appearing on products do not need to be translated into French, provided no French version of the mark appears on the trademark register.
Generic and Descriptive Wording in a Trademark
Despite the above noted trademark exception, a “generic term or a description” of a product that is included in a trademark must still be translated into French. The translation must appear on the product or on a medium permanently attached to the product.
The Regulation defines descriptive as “one or more words describing the characteristics of a product”, and defines generic as “one or more words describing the nature of a product”. The name of the enterprise and name of the product as sold, if part of a trademark, are not considered generic or descriptive terms and thus do not need to be translated.
Public Signage and Advertising
The previous rule stipulating that public signs and posters and commercial advertising must be in French remains in force. Another language may appear on such displays provided the French is “markedly predominant”.
Recognized trademarks (i.e., registered and common law trademarks) are exempt from the above noted rule, provided no French version of the trademark appears on the trademark register.
If such a trademark appears on a public sign or poster visible from outside premises though, French on the sign must be “markedly predominant” relative to the non-French text. To assure the marked predominance of French, if a public sign or poster visible from outside premises shows an enterprise’s name or trademark, such signs “must be accompanied by terms in French, in particular a generic term, a description of the relevant products or services, or a slogan”. To be markedly predominant, the space allotted to the French text must be “at least twice as large as the space allotted to the text in another language”, and the French text’s “legibility and permanent visibility [must be] equivalent to those of the text in another language”. For dynamic signage (e.g., a digital display), French is markedly predominant if it is visible for at least twice as long as the text in another language.
French text such as “business hours, telephone numbers, addresses, numbers, percentages or definite, indefinite or partitive articles” are not considered when assessing marked predominance.
How do you comply with the law?
The Quebec government has released a guide showing examples of non-compliant and compliant products here. Examples of non-compliant and compliant signage are also available here.
Businesses should be aware that the Regulations provide for a grace period whereby non-compliant products manufactured before 1 June 2025 can continue to be sold until 1 June 2027. There is no grace period for public signage.
While Bill 96 no longer requires a trademark registration to avoid the translation requirements, there are numerous advantages to obtaining a registered trademark.
We invite you to reach out to a member of our team if you have any questions about pursuing trademark protection.