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ARTICLE · 31 JANUARY 2024

Trademarks: 2023 Year In Review

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Happy New Year from the Cassels Trademarks team! 2023 (and early 2024) saw several notable developments in Canadian trademark law and practice.

CanadaIntellectual Property
Mark Davis
Mark Davis
Sebastian D. Beck-Watt
Sebastian D. Beck-Watt
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Happy New Year from the Cassels Trademarks team! 2023 (and early 2024) saw several notable developments in Canadian trademark law and practice. We have prepared a summary of some of the most notable updates and decisions.

DRAFT REGULATIONS CLARIFY SOME BILL 96 AMENDMENTS TO THE CHARTER OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE

2022 saw the passage of Québec's "Bill 96" — An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec — which included a number of important changes to the Charter of the French Language (Charter) affecting brand owners. As we recently reported, on January 10, 2024, the Québec government released draft regulations (Draft Regulations).

The Draft Regulations answer some, though not all, of the questions raised by Bill 96. Most notably, they provide some updates on the interpretation of the rules applicable to product labelling and posters and commercial advertising visible from outside premises (Street Visible Signs).

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