Charter of the French Language: Quebec Publishes Amended Regulation

On June 26, 2024, the Quebec government amended its regulation relating to the application of Quebec’s language legislation in the context of commerce and business. The adoption of this Regulation to amend mainly the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business (Amended Business Regulation) follows the publication of draft regulation in January 2024 and a consultation period. 

This Amended Business Regulation provides details on the application of the Charter of the French Language (Charter), as substantially amended in 2022 through the Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, commonly known as Bill 96. 

In particular, Bill 96 and the Amended Business Regulation create different regimes of exception for non-French trademarks, depending on whether the trademark appears (a) on a public sign generally, (b) on a public sign visible from outside premises, (c) on a product, its packaging or a document supplied with it, or (d) in commercial advertising. The Amended Business Regulation also provides some details on the application of the requirements of the Charter relating to the language of contracts of adhesion and related documents.

Public Signs

Under the Charter, commercial advertising through public signs and posters must generally be in French. Signs may generally be in French and another language (such as English), provided the French version is markedly predominant. 

There are limited exceptions to this requirement. Currently, certain registered and non-registered trademarks may benefit from an exception and appear solely in English or in another language than French. Starting on June 1, 2025, amendments made through Bill 96 will limit the availability of this trademark exception on public signs, so that a non-French trademark will only benefit from the exception if it is registered as a trademark in Canada and if no corresponding French version appears in Canada’s trademark register. 

Additional requirements will apply when a non-French (registered) trademark appears on a sign visible from outside premises. According to the Amended Business Regulation, such a trademark will have to be accompanied by French terms, such as a slogan or terms describing the characteristics or nature of the relevant products or services, to ensure that French is markedly predominant. These terms in French must appear in the same visual field as the trademark and have a much greater visual impact, meaning that the space allotted to the French text must be at least twice as large as the text in another language. Compliance could likely be achieved through a combination of elements, such as one or more generic terms, descriptions or slogans. 

The French text’s legibility and permanent visibility must also be equivalent to the text in the other language. Temporary French signs and French signage of a precarious nature (such as signs that may be easily removed or torn off) would generally not be sufficient to meet the requirement. If dynamic signage is used, with French and another language displayed alternatively, the French must be displayed for at least twice as long to be considered to have a much greater visual impact.

The provisions of the Amended Business Regulation in this respect will take effect on June 1, 2025. 

Inscriptions on Products

Generally, under the Charter, all inscriptions on products offered on the Quebec market, their packaging, and documents supplied with them must be in French. A version of the inscriptions can also appear in one or more other languages, as long as no inscription in another language is given greater prominence or is available on more favourable terms than its French version. 

Again, there are limited exceptions to this requirement, including with respect to certain trademarks. Starting on June 1, 2025, as a result of the amendments made through Bill 96 and the Amended Business Regulation, the exception will only be available to non-French trademarks that have been registered in Canada and only when no corresponding French version appears in the trademark register. Contrary to what the draft regulation published in January 2024 seemed to indicate, the Amended Business Regulation does not extend this exception to trademark applications. 

According to the Amended Business Regulation, when a generic term or a description of the product is included in the non-French registered trademark, this generic or descriptive term will have to appear in French on the product or on a medium permanently attached to it. This requirement relates to one or more words describing the nature of a product or its characteristics but would not apply to the name of the enterprise or the name of the product as sold. Exclusions will be available for designations of origin and distinctive names of a cultural nature.

These requirements will take effect on June 1, 2025. However, a grace period to comply with the modified trademark exception (including the requirements relating to a generic term or description of a product) will be granted for products that were manufactured prior to June 1, 2025 (or December 31, 2025 for certain products subject to new labelling standards under federal food and drugs regulations) if the non-French trademark is a recognized trademark and no French version of the product’s recognized trademark was registered on June 26, 2024. 

Interestingly, the draft regulation published in January 2024 included language limiting the application of an exception currently applicable to certain inscriptions that are baked, engraved, inlaid, riveted, welded or embossed on a product. This language has not been included in the Amended Business Regulation. The Quebec government has indicated that they are still considering these changes. 

Commercial Advertising

The Charter requires commercial advertising to be drafted in French regardless of the medium used, and no version in another language may be made available to the public if the French version is not available on terms that are at least as favourable. In this context, a “recognized trademark” may appear in a language other than French, unless a French version has been registered. This exception applicable to a “recognized” trademark could extend not only to registered trademarks but also to certain common law trademarks and trademark applications. The Amended Business Regulation does not impact these provisions. As a result, it seems that a “recognized” trademark may continue to be used in commercial advertising (without the need to be registered), as long as no French version of the trademark has been registered. 

Contracts 

Section 55 of the Charter generally requires a French version of contracts of adhesion and related documents to be first provided in French to the adhering party. The Amended Business Regulation includes details on how this requirement may be fulfiled when contracts of adhesion are entered into through technological means, as well as a list of types of documents considered to be related to contracts of adhesion and, as a result, subject to the requirement. These provisions of the Amended Business Regulation come into on July 10, 2024.

For more information, please contact:

or any other member of our Montréal Technology group.