Bill 96 may lead to ‘the disappearance of popular products’ in Quebec: International Trademark Association

Proposed regulations on the language of commercial signage could lead to the “disappearance of popular products” from Quebec stores, says an international business group.

The costs and irritants surrounding its application could force some manufacturers to avoid Quebec, warns the head of the International Trademark Association (INTA), which represents 6,500 companies in 181 jurisdictions.

“Companies will have to ask themselves whether it really makes sense to be in the Quebec market,” said INTA president and CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo in an interview. “The moment a company asks itself these questions, it means a possible withdrawal of a product from the market, and therefore less choice for consumers.”

Sanz de Acedo points out that consumers would lose out: “If there is less choice for consumers, it means that some companies will have more opportunities to raise prices, because less choice means higher prices.”

The draft regulation on the sign language specifies the application of certain provisions of Bill 96. The spokesperson for trademark owners asserts that INTA supports the principle of protecting the French language.

“I am French,” he insists. “I will always defend the interests of the French language.”

However, his association is “concerned” about certain provisions of the draft regulation. One of INTA’s concerns is the translation of words engraved on a product.

In its brief, the association gives the example of the inside drawer of a washing machine, where the identification of the different compartments (detergents, fabric softeners, etc.) are engraved in English.

Sanz de Acedo says that translating these markings is much more complex than translating a user manual: “It would mean, for example, that manufacturers would have to change their production moulds. If a manufacturer had to change its manufacturing method exclusively for the Quebec market, that would entail considerable costs for a company.”

The association is also concerned about the obligation to translate descriptions that are part of a registered trademark. It is also concerned about the costs and deadlines involved in applying the rules on commercial signage.

Businesses in Quebec have until June 1, 2025, to double the amount of space devoted to the French language in their windows, according to a draft regulation published in the Gazette officielle du gouvernement du Québec on Jan. 10.

Sanz de Acedo believes that the draft regulations “may not comply with Canadian intellectual property law and international treaties signed by Canada.”

Asked to elaborate, he cites two World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements as examples: the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). He also refers to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “Bill 96 raises some very serious questions,” he said.

INTA is not alone in expressing reservations about the draft regulations. In January, the Biden administration expressed its concerns about the “potential impact on US businesses” of the proposed regulations at a meeting between senior U.S. and Canadian officials.

The Legault government is still analysing comments on the draft regulations.

Minister for the French Language Jean-François Roberge said he would take the comments into account so that “the regulation is properly applied, and ideally all the services that are currently available remain available”, he replied to a question from The Canadian Press during a press scrum on Friday.

“However, the right of Quebecers to be greeted in French, to be served in French, to have objects labelled in French so that we can understand what we are buying, so that we know what is in the products, I think that this is non-negotiable,” he defended.

Roberge drew parallels with the concerns expressed when the Charter of the French Language was adopted in 1977.

“Listen, it was predicted that there would be a bloodbath. In the end, that’s not what happened (…) No one would go back to the way things were before 1977, before the Charter.”

“Every time we make a gesture of national affirmation, every time we raise the bar, there are people who worry. That’s fine. There are also people who run fear campaigns. I don’t think there’s any need for that.”

-This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews.