The Canadian ESA has released a commissioned study on the economic impact of the entertainment software industry in Canada. The study finds that it is a multi-billion dollar industry with revenues that exceed those for film exhibition and sound recordings. While the ESA will likely argue that this demonstrates the need for politicians to take their concerns into greater account, the study is better seen as a validation of the current marketplace framework. A booming industry has developed in Canada based largely on programming skills and Canadian creativity. Canadian copyright law has apparently not been an impediment to that growth (the study makes no mention of copyright at all).
The Economic Impact of the Canadian Entertainment Software Industry
November 2, 2007
Share this post
One Comment

Law Bytes
Episode 268: Sara Grimes on the Moral Panic Behind Banning Kids from Social Media and AI Chatbots
byMichael Geist

May 11, 2026
Michael Geist
May 4, 2026
Michael Geist
April 27, 2026
Michael Geist
Ep. 265 – Jason Millar on Claude Mythos, Project Glasswing, and the Governance Crisis in Frontier AI
April 20, 2026
Michael Geist
Search Results placeholder
Michael Geist on Substack
Recent Posts
The Lawful Access Two-Headed Surveillance Monster: How Bill C-22 Went Off the Rails
How Much Further Will Lawful Access Go?: Police Chief Tells Bill C-22 Hearing That Three Years of Metadata Retention Would Be “Ideal”
Bill C-22’s Groundhog Day: Why the Government’s Dismissal of Signal, Apple and the U.S. Congress Concerns Runs Back the Disastrous Online News Act Playbook
Slick Videos Won’t Save Lawful Access: Why The Government’s Bill C-22 Defence Avoids the Charter, Privacy and Security Concerns Raised By Critics
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 268: Sara Grimes on the Moral Panic Behind Banning Kids from Social Media and AI Chatbots

I find these type of studies amusing. Last I looked the oil industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. So is the automotive industry, the food processing industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and few others. These studies are usually released before there is a push for even more copyright restrictions.