Legal Adviser, Intellectual Property Policy Directorate, Department of Industry, Ottawa
Mr. Bruce Couchman works in the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate of the Department of Industry, Ottawa, Canada. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto (LL.B., B.A., M.A.) and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1974. Since 1980 he has worked in the federal government on policy development, law reform and treaty negotiations with respect to intellectual property in the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs and the Department of Industry.
During that period, he has worked primarily in copyright law reform including the Phase I (1988) and Phase II (1997) amendments to the Copyright Act and the Bill C-60 amendments introduced into Parliament in June 2005. He has also worked on patent law reform.
He has participated in a variety of international meetings and negotiations on intellectual property including the NAFTA negotiations, the GATT Uruguay Round TRIPS negotiations, the FTAA negotiations and various World Intellectual Property Organization meetings and negotiations. Currently, he is the head of the Canadian delegation to meetings of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights.