Game Studio Law
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.1 lawyer · Waterloo Region
One of 54 law firms listed in Waterloo, and one of 3 handling Technology & Startups.
Free consultation
Free consultationAbout Game Studio Law
Game Studio Law is Dale Dietrich's video game law practice, licensed in Ontario and California. Most of its clients are in games: studios, solo developers and freelancers working in the industry.
Game work started in 2007, when Metanet signed on as the first video game client after Dietrich had spent 12 years as a technology and Internet lawyer. In 2021 the practice was rebranded around a commitment to the games industry.
Because Dietrich is licensed in Ontario and California, the practice can generally help clients who are located in either place, who are incorporated or incorporating there, or whose business dealings involve people or companies in Ontario or California.
Consultations are free and focus on your options and how the practice can support your studio's success. The office address is 261 Pastern Trail in Waterloo.
History
Dietrich set up a tech law practice in Ontario in 2002, after a stretch of travelling around the U.S. and South East Asia. The move into games came by way of writing: for three years Dietrich ran a video game law blog, since closed, and it eventually produced the referral that brought in Metanet.
Practice areas
Game studios
Dietrich helps studios clear all of a game's IP, take on employees and freelance contractors, and draft and negotiate platform, publishing, funding and work for hire deals, along with any other commercial or corporate contract a studio needs.
Founders and studio setup
Founders get help incorporating a studio, issuing shares and stock options, appointing officers and directors, and keeping minute books current. The work also covers moving a founder's game IP into the studio and setting founders up as its employees or contractors.
Freelance creators
Freelancers such as artists, composers, coders and writers can get help securing their IP, preparing work-for-hire agreements, and contracting on fair terms with game, film and TV studios.
Good to know
Accessible parkingFees & payment
Free consultationHow Game Studio Law works
Hourly billing comes in two tiers. Smaller studios and startups pay a tiered rate of $200 to $250 an hour, and established or profitable studios pay $325. The practice commits to keeping rates where they are when a studio lands its first government grants or subsidies, wins prizes at game competitions, or signs a smaller funding, platform or publishing deal. (Fees as of October 2026.)
You won't be asked for a retainer up front; invoices go out periodically once the work's been done. At any point in a billing cycle you can find out what fees have built up on your account. The practice's policy is to recommend only the legal services a client needs, and its view is that most start-ups can't afford, and don't really need, to register trademarks and copyrights.
In the community
- Dietrich gave a Game Studio Law 101 presentation to the Interactive Digital Media Fund Futures Program, which is sponsored by Ontario Creates and the Hand Eye Society.
Lawyers 1
Who handles what
Frequently asked questions
- Does Game Studio Law bill for a quick phone call or email?
- Game Studio Law doesn't invoice for calls and emails it can answer in a few minutes. It also notarizes most straightforward documents for its clients at no charge.
- Why won't Game Studio Law quote a fixed fee for my indie studio's work?
- Game Studio Law doesn't offer fixed fees or fixed estimates because of the steep discounts it already gives small studios and start-ups.
- If my game studio is incorporated, is Game Studio Law acting for me or for the company?
- Game Studio Law's client is the corporation, not its founders, shareholders, officers or directors as individuals. Where a studio has more than one founder, all of them sign the engagement agreement, which sets out who can instruct the firm for the corporation.
- Can our whole founding team join a Game Studio Law consultation on Zoom?
- Yes. The entire founding team is welcome on the call, which can take place by phone, Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, whichever suits you, and usually runs up to an hour.
- Can Game Studio Law help a game studio outside Ontario and California?
- Sometimes, yes. For some studios elsewhere in Canada or the U.S., Game Studio Law can provide a narrower range of services, and you can ask for details if that may be your situation.
Where to find them
261 Pastern Trail, Waterloo, Ontario N2K 3X1 · 416-402-3362
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