--_010_f982bbe9e25b4950b72efdb29af8e887GPConceptalcom_ Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="_009_f982bbe9e25b4950b72efdb29af8e887GPConceptalcom_"; type="multipart/alternative" --_009_f982bbe9e25b4950b72efdb29af8e887GPConceptalcom_ Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="_000_f982bbe9e25b4950b72efdb29af8e887GPConceptalcom_" --_000_f982bbe9e25b4950b72efdb29af8e887GPConceptalcom_ Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable French version will follow. La version fran=E7aise se trouve sous le texte = en anglais. Dear Mr. Thomas, As you already know and acted upon during the rebranding of TheKey, the Gov= ernment of Quebec recently published new regulations concerning the use of = French in business. We have taken the initiative to request a legal opinion= from a law firm to help us provide you with the best advice in your Franci= zation efforts. The legal opinion is attached to this email. You=92ll find below a simplifi= ed summary to help you understand the changes that may affect you. Please p= ay a particular attention to the section Recommendations. What are the new regulations: The regulations are designed to tighten the rules for the use of trademarks= in a language other than French. When the regulations take effect, any tra= demark in a language other than French used in an advertisement or on a pub= lic poster or sign must be registered or be in the registration process, or= be a =93recognized=94 trademark in a language other than French. In this l= ast case, a =93recognized=94 trademark in a language other than French can = be used only provided that there is no version of the trademark used in Fre= nch. The regulation that was adopted was relaxed to include unregistered tr= ademarks recognized by their use. However, if this trademark is visible fro= m outside the premises, it must be accompanied by words in French that are = much more visible than the trademark in a language other than French. To do= so, the text must meet two conditions: (1) the text in French must occupy = at least two times more space than the text in another language and (2) the= text in French must be at least as easy to read and visible as the text in= another language. Differences between trade names and trademarks A trade name, defined by the Trademarks Act, is the name under which a comp= any operates (legal name in its incorporating document or another name used= and registered on the REQ for example). It differs from a trademark, which= distinguishes the products and services of a company from those of others.= The trade name identifies the company itself, while the trademark is gener= ally related to goods and services. To summarize, the trade name distinguishes the company, while the trademark= distinguishes products and services. Although trade names do not benefit f= rom the same rights as trademarks, they can be registered as trademarks to = benefit from the same rights, just as the trademark can