What Trademark Owners need to bear in Mind about the recent Amendments to the Charter of the French Language (Bill 96)

On June 26, 2024, the Quebec government published the final version of the Regulation to amend mainly the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business, ahead of the new provisions of the Charter of the French language relating to signage and packaging, which will be effective as of June 1, 2025, following the adoption of Bill 96. 

Prior to the adoption of this bill, the Charter required that all labelling on a product (including its packaging) and all commercial signage in Québec must be drafted in French (while permitting the use of other languages as well within certain parameters that vary depending on whether we’re dealing with labelling or signage). The Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business provided for exceptions to this rule, including trademarks, and permitted text content in a language other than French of a recognized trademark within the meaning of the Trademarks Act. Note that trademarks that are invented words that do not correspond to an actual word in a language other than French are not subject to any restrictions, just as if they were in French.

At the time, despite the Office Québécois de la langue française’s position of restrictively interpreting the term “recognized trademark” to limit the application of this exception to duly registered trademarks only, this term was interpreted more broadly by the courts, which ruled that the exception extends to all trademarks, registered or not (as long as they are truly used as a trademark). 

Bill 96 amends the Charter to restrict the scope of this exception to duly registered trademarks, which sparked outrage in a large part of the business community.
It should be noted that obtaining a trademark registration in Canada generally requires a two- to three-year wait in the best of cases. To mitigate the rigidity of this ill-received exception, a later version of the draft Regulation equated a pending trademark application with a registered trademark. This proposed easing, however, remains problematic for many companies whose trademarks are not eligible for registration (for a variety of reasons) and for those who find registration costs prohibitive (for example for a small business of for low-volume products).

Surprisingly, the most recent version of the Regulation published on June 26, 2024, and which will come into force on June 1, 2025, re-establishes the “recognized trademark” exception for non-French language inscriptions on products or commercial signs, thus allowing a trademark, whether registered or not.

In other words, the Regulation completely overrides a major amendment to the Charter and establishes new parameters that apply to this exception.  

Here is a summary of the new rules applicable in Quebec as of June 1, 2025, regarding the exception allowing a trademark to appear only in a language other than French: 

• Products, packaging, and accompanying documents: all recognized trademarks in accordance with the Trademarks Act (whether registered or not) in a language other than French may be registered without further consideration or requirement. However, if your trademark, which is in a language other than French, includes generic or descriptive components (such as ingredients, colour, fragrance or other product characteristics), a French version of the generic or descriptive components must also appear. Also note that the Regulation allow for a two-year exception for products manufactures and packaged/labelled before June 1, 2025, such as to avoid having to re-package/re-label products that will become non-conform.
• Commercial signage: Signage visible from the exterior must include French generic terms, such as a description or a slogan. In addition, the space dedicated to the French text must be at least twice as large as that occupied by the trademark or any other non-French text. Many business signage will certainly not be conform by June 1, 2025, and recognizing this there are indications from the Office québécoise de la langue française that it will be somewhat indulgent if real effort to attain signage conformity are underway.
• Commercial documents: Available to the public, these may include catalogues, brochures, flyers, directories, and order forms. The rule in effect prior to Bill 96 remains unchanged: a recognized trademark in accordance with the Trademarks Act (wether registered or not) does not have to be translated to apper on these document. There are therefore essentielly no modifications in this regard and versions entirely in a language other than French remain permitted as long as the French version is available under no less favourable conditions of accessibility and quality than the version in that other language.

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that if you do wish to register your trademark solely in a language other than French on products, their packaging, and their accompanying documents, in a public display in Québec or on the aforementioned commercial documents, no French version of this trademark must be registered. Otherwise, i.e., in situation where a French version is registered, that French version must appear on all text content and displays.

Nevertheless, even if the final version of the Regulation extends the exception to unregistered trademarks, it is strongly recommended that you register your trademark. Doing so will make it much easier to prove if need be, that your trademark benefits from the exception under the Regulation.

Our team of trademark professionals is here to provide you with guidance in this process and advise you on your strategy for protecting your trademarks in Canada and abroad.