Toronto, ON, Friday, March 1, 2013 – The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) welcomes new federal legislation to tackle IP crime. Counterfeiting and the related crime of piracy costs countless billions to the Canadian economy each year and steals from legitimate rights holders like those in the video game industry. Bill C-56, An Act to amend the Copyright Act and the Trade-marks Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts will grant Canadian border officials much needed power to seize counterfeits and as well as other measures to curb the influx of fake and other illegal goods.

“Equipping border service agents with the necessary tools to seize counterfeit products and other illegal goods like circumvention devices will help take a bite out of this ongoing problem,” said Jayson Hilchie, President & CEO of ESAC. “Protecting Intellectual Property (IP) is critical to the Canadian economy, especially for content industries like ours, which depends on talent, imagination and creativity to generate returns,” he added.

ESAC is the voice of the Canadian computer and video game industry that employs approximately 16,000 people at nearly 350 companies across the country. By contributing $1.7 billion in economic activity and cultivating workers with a combination of creative, technological and management skills, the video game industry is supporting Canada’s position in the changing global economy. This dynamic and growing industry is currently the world’s third largest. ESAC works on behalf of its members to ensure the legal and regulatory environment is favourable for the long-term development of Canada’s video game industry. Association members include the nation’s leading interactive software developers and publishers including Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft Canada, Nintendo of Canada, Sony Computer Entertainment, Disney Interactive Studios, Take Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Frontier Developments, as well as distributors Solutions 2 Go and Team One Marketing.