The final changes to provisions regarding trademarks in the province of Quebec, Canada, came into force on June 1, 2025. Any enterprise, business or employer carrying on activities in Quebec must comply with the amendments to the Regulations. These changes apply to product inscriptions, websites and social media, public signage and commercial advertising.
Under the amended Charter, the exception to use a non-French trademark on products relates to both registered and unregistered trademarks within the meaning of the Trademarks Act (“TMA”). Registered and unregistered trademarks appearing on products do not need to be translated into French, provided no French version of the mark appears on the trademark register. When a non-French trademark appearing on a product includes a generic term or description of the product, such terms or descriptions must appear in French on the product or on a medium permanently attached to the 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 do not need to be translated. The Quebec government has released a guide showing examples of non-compliant and compliant products – Entreprises : marque de commerce sur les produits.
There is an exception for permanent product inscriptions which are engraved, baked, inlaid, riveted, welded, or embossed directly on a product and may appear on a product exclusively in a language other than French, except for inscriptions concerning the safety of the product and those considered “necessary for the use of the product”. Nevertheless, all permanent product inscriptions must also appear in French elsewhere in at least equivalent conditions on the product.
Non-compliant products are provided with a grace period within which businesses may dispose of non-compliant products. Businesses will have until June 1, 2027 to distribute, sell or lease non-compliant products manufactured before June 1, 2025. Non-compliant products manufactured after June 1, 2025 are not subject to a grace period.
Despite exemptions of translations, public signage and commercial advertising are required to be accompanied by French terms markedly predominant to a trademark in the same visual field, even if a trademark is registered within the meaning of the TMA. In assessing the marked predominance of French, business hours, telephone numbers, addresses, numbers, percentages and definite, indefinite or partitive articles written in French shall not be considered.
If you have any questions regarding the Charter of the French Language and its application please contact us at mail@macrae.ca.
This publication is intended for general information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
